Ancient roman fort

[yo6oej]

📌After several years of searching in the field for unknown areas of the Roman defense in northern part of Roman Dacia, I arrived again at a location that visited several times a few years ago, showed nothing but WW1 trenches. I passed by there several times, but I made the mistake of studying only the higher area, among trenches and cannon placements, being convinced that if something was there in antiquity, this area have been irreparably depreciated by modern military works. And at least I had seen on several occasions, the fact that not always an ancient Roman fortifications was located on the highest point... This time, with the help of a good friend of mine, the location was studied more thoroughly, and on its northern edge, near the forest, an imprint appeared in the soil which has nothing to do with modern wars. A well-defined quadrilateral has been appear with equal sides of 35 m x 35 m, which I believe can only be a Roman marching camp (castra movere), delimited by a ditch (vallum) visible even today, a perimeter inside which the Roman legionaries and auxiliaries were stationed, and there is also the suspicion that a small watchtower existed in one of its corners. North of this location, the nearest and most important Roman tower identified is about 10 km away, next to a large Roman vicus, and in the opposite direction a few kilometers away, a Roman camp, with direct visibility to both. Several objects were discovered on the north side of the quadrate, which confirms the period of the fort from approximately the 2nd half of the 2nd century, namely 5 imperial roman denarii and 2 rings from the same period :
➡️1 Vespasianus (69-79);
➡️1 Domitianus (90-91);
➡️2 Trajanus (98-117);
➡️1 Hadrianus (117-138);
➡️1 round ring in section, made of silver;
➡️1 bronze alloy ring, decorated with evil-eye and other ornamental symbols;
In the vicinity of the area, the following were also identified :
➡️1 iron arrowhead;
➡️1 fragmentary bronze buckle, with iron pin;
➡️1 rhomboid arrowhead with pin, made of iron (probably from the migration period)

 

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[E-Trac-Ohio]

Wow ... all your research and hard work really paid off - congrats on the FANTASTIC finds !

 

[Mackaydon]

Outstanding finds, history and presentation.
Don in SoCal

 

[Gene Mean]

Incredible finds! Your hard work really paid off. Hope to see more from you.

 

[Silvermonkey]

A very impressive post, with even more impressive finds! That is quite a treasure trove of ancient coins and relics. Congratulations on your accomplishment!

 

[grasshopper]

Amazing finds, and beautiful pictures as well. Congrats and thanks for sharing!!

 

[cudamark]

Looks like your soil is pretty easy on metal. Nice!

 

[mjb Mike]

wow that is amazing. Im sure a lot of work and alot of hours went in to you research.

 

[ArfieBoy]

Congratulations on some great and beautiful finds! Thanks for sharing your story and finds!

 

[Limitool]

I think you've done a great job sir. Nicely written and the finds are outstanding also. Best of luck to ya on finding a lot more also.

 

[Digger RJ]

📌After several years of searching in the field for unknown areas of the Roman defense in northern part of Roman Dacia, I arrived again at a location that visited several times a few years ago, showed nothing but WW1 trenches. I passed by there several times, but I made the mistake of studying only the higher area, among trenches and cannon placements, being convinced that if something was there in antiquity, this area have been irreparably depreciated by modern military works. And at least I had seen on several occasions, the fact that not always an ancient Roman fortifications was located on the highest point... This time, with the help of a good friend of mine, the location was studied more thoroughly, and on its northern edge, near the forest, an imprint appeared in the soil which has nothing to do with modern wars. A well-defined quadrilateral has been appear with equal sides of 35 m x 35 m, which I believe can only be a Roman marching camp (castra movere), delimited by a ditch (vallum) visible even today, a perimeter inside which the Roman legionaries and auxiliaries were stationed, and there is also the suspicion that a small watchtower existed in one of its corners. North of this location, the nearest and most important Roman tower identified is about 10 km away, next to a large Roman vicus, and in the opposite direction a few kilometers away, a Roman camp, with direct visibility to both. Several objects were discovered on the north side of the quadrate, which confirms the period of the fort from approximately the 2nd half of the 2nd century, namely 5 imperial roman denarii and 2 rings from the same period :
➡️1 Vespasianus (69-79);
➡️1 Domitianus (90-91);
➡️2 Trajanus (98-117);
➡️1 Hadrianus (117-138);
➡️1 round ring in section, made of silver;
➡️1 bronze alloy ring, decorated with evil-eye and other ornamental symbols;
In the vicinity of the area, the following were also identified :
➡️1 iron arrowhead;
➡️1 fragmentary bronze buckle, with iron pin;
➡️1 rhomboid arrowhead with pin, made of iron (probably from the migration period)
View attachment 2200856

Awesome!!! Congrats!!!

 

[Glen's Loyalists]

Very nice indeed. Excellent research

 

[searcher]

Great work @yo6oej !
Thanks for posting the pics and info.
I wonder if there are any written records of this fort.

Are there any Roman roads leading to of from this?

 

[pepperj]

The coins are in awesome shape. Really liking the ring also. Congratulations on your recoveries.
Shows that research pay off.

 

[scruggs]

Outstanding pictures and recoveries you made! Congratulations on a hunt well done!

 

[achanceforgold]

📌After several years of searching in the field for unknown areas of the Roman defense in northern part of Roman Dacia, I arrived again at a location that visited several times a few years ago, showed nothing but WW1 trenches. I passed by there several times, but I made the mistake of studying only the higher area, among trenches and cannon placements, being convinced that if something was there in antiquity, this area have been irreparably depreciated by modern military works. And at least I had seen on several occasions, the fact that not always an ancient Roman fortifications was located on the highest point... This time, with the help of a good friend of mine, the location was studied more thoroughly, and on its northern edge, near the forest, an imprint appeared in the soil which has nothing to do with modern wars. A well-defined quadrilateral has been appear with equal sides of 35 m x 35 m, which I believe can only be a Roman marching camp (castra movere), delimited by a ditch (vallum) visible even today, a perimeter inside which the Roman legionaries and auxiliaries were stationed, and there is also the suspicion that a small watchtower existed in one of its corners. North of this location, the nearest and most important Roman tower identified is about 10 km away, next to a large Roman vicus, and in the opposite direction a few kilometers away, a Roman camp, with direct visibility to both. Several objects were discovered on the north side of the quadrate, which confirms the period of the fort from approximately the 2nd half of the 2nd century, namely 5 imperial roman denarii and 2 rings from the same period :
➡️1 Vespasianus (69-79);
➡️1 Domitianus (90-91);
➡️2 Trajanus (98-117);
➡️1 Hadrianus (117-138);
➡️1 round ring in section, made of silver;
➡️1 bronze alloy ring, decorated with evil-eye and other ornamental symbols;
In the vicinity of the area, the following were also identified :
➡️1 iron arrowhead;
➡️1 fragmentary bronze buckle, with iron pin;
➡️1 rhomboid arrowhead with pin, made of iron (probably from the migration period)
View attachment 2200856

What part of Dacia may I ask?
Have you looked at the Tabula Peutingeriana?
your fort may have a name.

 

[tamrock]

Sound like a fascinating experience.

 

[yo6oej]

Great work @yo6oej !
Thanks for posting the pics and info.
I wonder if there are any written records of this fort.

Are there any Roman roads leading to of from this?

There was no information about this fort, but on that route there must have been a Roman fortification, which connected the known fort to the south and the Roman military towers to the north to which it connected, but it was more difficult to identify.
About the road, it's quite difficult to find out what the route of the Roman military troops was, as it is possible that it overlaps with the modern road. There is also the possibility that the access road is through an old forest, where we found on the ridge road that crosses the forest, several segments of a stone-paved road.
UNESCO added the Roman Limes to the World Heritage List. The Dacian limes is the longest land Roman border sector of Europe, stretching over more than 1000 km. About the frontiers of the Roman Empire (Dacia), the Romanian segment, the Dacian Limes, was operational from 106 to 271 CE and it was the most complex land border of a former Roman province in Europe.

 

[yo6oej]

What part of Dacia may I ask?
Have you looked at the Tabula Peutingeriana?
your fort may have a name.

This is the northeastern area of the province of Dacia. I marked the discovery area with a red dot, and until the moment of identifying the fort, it was completely unknown.
Unfortunately, in the Tabula Peutingeriana this area is not illustrated with a road.

 

[achanceforgold]

This is the northeastern area of the province of Dacia. I marked the discovery area with a red dot, and until the moment of identifying the fort, it was completely unknown.
Unfortunately, in the Tabula Peutingeriana this area is not illustrated with a road.

View attachment 2200979

yes, there were thousands of smaller forts not listed. Great Find!
Have you discovered any evidence of Gothic or Hunnic use of the fort?
Fantastic job!