Arutela

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Arutela
Alternative name Bivolari
Castle, Bivolari Poiana Castle
limes Dacian Limes
section Limes Alutanus , A / X / 78
Dating (occupancy) 138 to 238/239
Type Numerus fort
unit Numerus Syrorum Sagittariorum
size 60.80 m × 60.80 m = 0.37 ha
Construction Stone fort
State of preservation partially preserved in the area
place Căciulata / Călimăneşti
Geographical location 45 ° 18 ′ 34.8 "  N , 24 ° 18 ′ 44.6"  E Coordinates: 45 ° 18 ′ 34.8 "  N , 24 ° 18 ′ 44.6"  E
height 286  m
Previous Jiblea Fort
(south, A / X / 76)
Subsequently Fort Praetorium I
(north, A / X / 81)
Upstream Rădăcineşti Castle
(east, A / X / 77)
Restored relics of the fort
Porta praetoria of the Arutela Castle
Restored foundations of the horreum
Arutela in the course of the Dacian Limites

Arutela (also: Kastell Bivolari or Kastell Bivolari Poiana ) is the ancient name of a Roman auxiliary troop camp in the area of ​​the town of Călimăneşti in the village of Căciulata in the Vâlcea district in the Romanian region of Little Wallachia . In ancient times it was part of the Limes Alutanus and administratively belonged to the province of Dacia inferior , later to the Dacia Malvensis .

Sources and location

Arutela was already listed on the Tabula Peutingeriana and it was listed in the Geographike Hyphegesis of Claudius Ptolemy . In ancient times, the fort crew was responsible for monitoring the trunk road that ran parallel to the Olt .

In today's settlement picture , the soil monument is in the Poiana Bivolari corridor on the left bank of the Olt, north of the village. It has been partially restored. Topographically, it is located on a raised terrace east of the river.

Archaeological evidence

Between 1967 and 1978 archaeological excavations and restoration work were carried out in the Arutela Castle under the direction of Dimitru Tudor , Cristian M. Vlădescu and Gheorge Poenaru-Bordea . Only a single construction phase of a stone fort was identified. During these excavations, only the north-eastern half of the fort could be explored, as the south-western part had fallen victim to the floods of the Olt over the centuries.

The fort had a square floor plan with a side length of 60.80 m, which means that it took up an area of ​​0.37 hectares. With its rounded corners, it was oriented in the four cardinal directions in such a way that the Porta praetoria (main gate) faced northeast. It was reinforced with a 1.60 m thick wall, which was constructed using the technique of Opus incertum . On its inside, it was reinforced with buttresses 1.00 m by 1.50 m thick at intervals of 2.15 m to 4.40 m. Cristian M. Vlădescu suspected that the niches between the buttresses had been used as storage areas or horse stables, since horseshoes were found there. Felix Marcu shares Vlădescu's view of using it for storage purposes, but questions the horse stables hypothesis, as the space between the buttresses would not have been sufficient.

At its corners, the castle was provided with towers that protruded slightly outwards and had a trapezoidal floor plan (2.30 / 1.80 m / 1.80 m / 4.00 m). The three remaining gates had different design features. While the Porta praetoria had towers, the Portae principalis (side gates) had no towers . The gate towers of the Porta praetoria had a rectangular floor plan of 3.40 m by 4.50 m (inside 1.50 by 1.80 m) and protruded slightly from the wall. Their passage width was only 2.80 m. The passage width of the Porta principalis dextra (right side gate) was 2.85 m, while that of the Porta principalis sinistra (left side gate) was 3.85 m.

Inside the fort, the courses of the Via praetoria (main street), the Via principalis (cross street) and the Via sagularis (ring street ) could be verified. Via praetoria and Via principalis were paved and about three meters wide. The sagular via was only 1.50 wide. At the intersection of Via praetoria and Via principalis was a stone platform that Felix Marcu referred to as the location of the Groma . Since, according to Hyginus, the Groma also had a religious function, Marcu interprets this platform as a possible pedestal for a smaller statue in this context.

Of the inner buildings, the partially destroyed principia , a horreum and only traces of other buildings, one of which may have served as a fabrica , could be identified. The construction of the camp probably dates back to 138, which is supported by two different building inscriptions. The latest coin found is a coinage from Elagabal (218-222), which was minted between 220 and 222. The fort probably came to an end when the Olt flooded around 238/239.

Principia

The dimensions of the Principia (staff building) are assumed to be 9.70 m by 16.30 m (= 158.11 square meters). Only accepted because the south-western areas of the building were destroyed by the floods of the Olt. The north-eastern side, preserved in its full length, measures 9.70 m with a wall thickness of 0.60 m. The entrance has a passage width of only 1.70 m and is paved with mortar-bound stones. The relative narrowness of the entrance seems unusually to have been compensated for by a second entrance. The courtyard is largely paved. A drainage ditch was discovered in the central area of ​​the courtyard, and a stone water reservoir was discovered at the western end of the northeast wall.

Horror

In the Praetentura sinistra (left front half of the camp) a 11.10 m by 9.80 m (= 108.78 square meter) building was discovered and referred to by the excavators as a basilica serving for assembly purposes . Nicolae Gudea , however, interpreted it as horreum and Felix Marcu followed this interpretation. The walls of the building are 0.70 m thick. What is unusual is the lack of the outer support pillars typical of Horrea , which, however, could have been compensated for by the inner support pillars. Three entrances led into the building. Inside there are stone bases 0.50 m wide and 1.50 m long along the central axis, which presumably supported the ground together with the inner buttresses. On the south-eastern side, facing the Via praetoria , the retaining wall of a loading ramp that was probably located there was discovered.

troops

The numerus syrorum sagittariorum is the structural and main unit of the camp . These were archers fighting on foot who were originally recruited in the province of Syria . In addition, there are inscriptions from the Cohors I Hispanorum and the Legio V Macedonica in Arutela . With these, however, it must be seriously doubted that they represented units in Arutela. The inscriptions probably got there by other means (by messengers or individual soldiers assigned to the site).

Civil settlement and fort baths

To the east and northeast of the fort there was the auxiliary vicus , which also contained the fort's thermal baths , which were available to both soldiers and civilians. The vicus was a civil settlement that can be found at almost every Roman military camp and in which the living quarters of the relatives of soldiers, veterans, artisans, traders, innkeepers, prostitutes and other service providers were located.

Lost property and monument protection

The finds are kept in the Muzeul Militar Naţional (National Military Museum) in Bucharest .

The entire archaeological site and are in particular the castle according to the adopted in 2001 Law no. 422/2001 as historical monuments under protection and are using the LMI Code VL-IsA-09562 in the national list of historic monuments ( Lista Monumentelor istorice ) entered . Responsible are the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (Ministerul Culturii și Patrimoniului Național) , in particular the General Directorate for National Cultural Heritage, the Department of Fine Arts, the National Commission for Historical Monuments and other institutions subordinate to the Ministry. Unauthorized excavations and the export of ancient objects are prohibited in Romania.

See also

literature

  • Nicolae Gudea : The Dacian Limes. Materials on its story. In: Yearbook of the Römisch Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz. 44, 2, 1997, p. 91, ( digitized version ).
  • Felix Marcu: The Internal Planning of Roman Forts of Dacia . (= Bibliotheca Mvsei Napocensis XXX), Mega Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca 2009, ISBN 978-606-543-058-7 , pp. 178-184.
  • Gheorghe Poenaru-Bordea and Cristian M. Vlădescu : Săpăturile de salvare de la castrul Arutela din 1976 . Materiale și Cercetări Arheologice, A XIII-A, Sestune Anuală de Rapoarte. Muzeul Ţării Crişurilor, Oradea 1979, pp. 235f.
  • Dumitru Tudor : Castrul și băile romane de la Bivolari pe Olt . In Buletinul Comisiunii Monumentelor Istorice XXXV (1942), pp. 143-149.
  • Dimitru Tudor, Gheorghe Poenaru-Bordea and Cristian M. Vlădescu: Rezultatele primelor doua campanii de săpături arheologice (1967–1968) în castrul roman din Poiana Bivolari, oraşul Călimăneşti, Arutela, I, II. SMMIMşti 8-45.

Web links

Commons : Arutela  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b CIL 03, 13793 and CIL 03, 13794 .
  2. ↑ Tab. Peut. VIII, 1
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Nicolae Gudea : The Dacian Limes. Materials on its story. In: Yearbook of the Römisch Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz. 44, 2, 1997, p. 91, ( digitized version ).
  4. ↑ Cristian M. Vlădescu: Fortificaţiile novels din Dacia inferior . Scrisul Românesc, Craiova 1986, p. 51.
  5. ^ Felix Marcu: The Internal Planning of Roman Forts of Dacia . (= Bibliotheca Mvsei Napocensis XXX), Mega Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca 2009, ISBN 978-606-543-058-7 , p. 178f.
  6. ^ Felix Marcu: The Internal Planning of Roman Forts of Dacia . (= Bibliotheca Mvsei Napocensis XXX), Mega Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca 2009, ISBN 978-606-543-058-7 , p. 178.
  7. ^ Felix Marcu: The Internal Planning of Roman Forts of Dacia . (= Bibliotheca Mvsei Napocensis XXX), Mega Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca 2009, ISBN 978-606-543-058-7 , pp. 179f.
  8. ↑ CIL 3, 12601a and CIL 3, 12601b
  9. ↑ Cristian M. Vlădescu: Fortificaţiile novels din Dacia inferior . Scrisul Românesc, Craiova 1986, p. 59.
  10. ^ Felix Marcu: The Internal Planning of Roman Forts of Dacia . (= Bibliotheca Mvsei Napocensis XXX), Mega Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca 2009, ISBN 978-606-543-058-7 , pp. 178-180.
  11. ^ Felix Marcu: The Internal Planning of Roman Forts of Dacia . (= Bibliotheca Mvsei Napocensis XXX), Mega Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca 2009, ISBN 978-606-543-058-7 , pp. 180f.
  12. ↑ Dimitru Tudor Gheorghe Poenaru Bordea-and Cristian M. Vlădescu: . Rezultatele primelor doua campanii de săpături arheologice (1967-1968) în castrul roman din Poiana Bivolari, oraşul Călimăneşti, Arutela, I, II SMMIM 2-3 (1969) P. 21.
  13. ^ Felix Marcu: The Internal Planning of Roman Forts of Dacia . (= Bibliotheca Mvsei Napocensis XXX), Mega Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca 2009, ISBN 978-606-543-058-7 , pp. 181f.
  14. ↑ CIL 03, 12602
  15. ↑ AE 1969/70, 00550
  16. ^ Felix Marcu: The Internal Planning of Roman Forts of Dacia . (= Bibliotheca Mvsei Napocensis XXX), Mega Publishing House, Cluj-Napoca 2009, ISBN 978-606-543-058-7 , pp. 183f.
  17. ↑ Official website of the Muzeul Militar Naţional (Romanian), accessed on January 15, 2020.
  18. ↑ LMI VL-IsA-09562
  19. ↑ List of historical monuments on the website of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage