Cigmau Castle

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Cigmau Castle
Alternative name Germisara
limes Dacian Limes
section B / 99
Dating (occupancy) 2nd to 3rd century
Type Auxiliary fort
unit A) Vexillatio of Legio XIII Gemina
B) Numerus Peditum Singularium Britannicianorum
size 320 m × 120 m = 3.84 ha
Construction Stone fort
State of preservation visible and accessible in the field
place Cigmău , Geoagiu Municipality
Geographical location 45 ° 53 '37.6 "  N , 23 ° 11' 24.8"  E Coordinates: 45 ° 53 '37.6 "  N , 23 ° 11' 24.8"  E
height 212  m
Previous Vețel Castle ( Micia )
(west, A / V / 19)
Subsequently Apulum
(legionary camp Alba Iulia)
(east-northeast, C / 103)

Fort Cigmău (ancient name Germisara ) was a Roman auxiliary troop camp in the village of Cigmău in the municipality of Geoagiu , Hunedoara district in the Romanian region of Transylvania .

location

Germisara in the course of the Dacian Limites (106 to 275)

In today's settlement pattern is located archaeological monument of the village Cigmău and two kilometers almost two kilometers east south-southwest of the town Geoagiu in the undeveloped, agricultural or serving as fallow land corridor "Cetatea uriasilor" (fortress of the giants) or "Progadie". Topographically, it is located on a high terrace on the northern bank of the Mureș , about two and a half kilometers below the confluence of the Geoagiu river . In ancient times, the fort probably had the tactical task of monitoring the Mureș valley and the strategic function of controlling an area that had been numerous Dacian fortresses before the Roman occupation . Administratively, it was initially in the province of Dacia superior , later in the Dacia Apulensis .

The Roman spa town of Germisara ⊙ , today Geoagiu-Băi , developed a good five kilometers north of the fort and made use of the thermal springs of the rising mountains. The facility of the thermal baths goes back to pre-Roman times to the first century BC, so that Geoagiu-Băi can look back on a 2100-year tradition as a bathing resort.

  • Concentration of Dacian fortresses in the area around Cigmău around the year 100

  • Strategic position of Cigmau in the first Dacian war of Trajan (101/102)

  • Position of Cigmau in Trajan's second Dacian war (105/106)

Etymology, sources and history of research

Cigmau Castle (2011)

The name Germisara is of Dacian origin, means something like "hot water" (germi = heat, sara = waterfall) and refers to the local thermal springs. It is recorded on the Tabula Peutingeriana and listed both in the Geographike Hyphegesis of Claudius Ptolemy and in the Cosmographia of the geographer of Ravenna . Overall, the name Germisara seems to refer to an extensive area, possibly a pagus , which included the military camp, the associated auxiliarvicus, the burial grounds and the thermal springs.

Even if the site of the fort as such had been known for a long time, Nicolae Gudea was unable to provide any further details in his 1997 compendium on the forts of the Dacian Limites. Apart from the location of the camp, little was known about the military camp until the end of the 20th century. This only changed with the analysis of aerial and satellite photos by William S. Hanson and Ioana A. Oltean and the archaeological excavations that followed between 2000 and 2002 under the direction of Adriana and Eugen Pescaru.

Cigmau Castle

Floor plan of the Principia

The excavations finally led to the discovery of a stone fort with a trapezoidal floor plan and the unusual axis lengths of 320 m by 120 m, which corresponds to a built-up area of ​​3.84 hectares. The irregular shape is probably due to the fact that the topographical features of the high terrace had to be taken into account when the fort was built.

Principia

Cellar for the troop coffers in the flag shrine of the Principia (2011)

Regardless of the unusual shape of the camp floor plan , the principia (staff buildings) have a regular, rectangular (approaching a square) and symmetrical floor plan with a north-south axis of 34 m and an east-west axis of 35 m in length. This results in a building area of ​​1,190 m². The building complex has an inner courtyard of 13 m by 18 m (= 234 m²), lined on three sides by porticos and delimited by functional rooms . The entrance in the form of a six meter wide vestibule is on the south side. To the north, the inner courtyard is bounded by a basilica , which stretches across the entire width of the Principia, but is only five meters deep. In the eastern part of the basilica, traces of the wall were found that can be interpreted with reservations as the remains of a tribunal. The hall is closed by a 3.50 m deep escape from a total of six rooms. These rooms have different widths, so that despite the even number of rooms the flag sanctuary ( aedes or sacellum ) is in the symmetry axis of the building complex (east of the aedes there are two rooms to the west). The cellar of the flag sanctuary , where the troop treasury was traditionally kept, is still well preserved .

Horrea

Immediately west of the Principia , two larger buildings were uncovered, which were referred to as the Horrea (storage building) due to their massive supporting pillars . Their walls do not run parallel to the principia , but deviate from the axial alignment by a total of about three meters over their total length. The first Horreum, located directly next to the staff building, measures 29 m by 17.50 m (= 507.5 m²), a rather unusual size for this type of building. Although similarly spacious Horrea has also been found in other auxiliary forts, it is always a double Horrea, which in Cigmău is not indicated by any structural structures or other signs, so that a single-room large building must be assumed. The second, 28.50 m by 10.50 m (= 299 m²) large Horreum corresponds to the usual standards.

troops

Vexillatioes of the Legio XIII Gemina and the Numerus Peditum Singularium Britannicianorum , both of which are evidenced by numerous brick stamps and inscriptions, are referred to as the main units of Fort Cigmău . The Legio XIII Gemina had already taken part in Trajan's first Dacian War and then moved into its headquarters in the legionary camp Alba Iulia ( Apulum ), from where it sent detachments to various other locations. The Numerus Peditum Singularium Britannicianorum , which was initially stationed in the province of Moesia superior , has been recorded in Dacia since the year 110, where it presumably remained until the end of the Roman occupation of the country. Possibly around the middle of the first century he replaced the troops of Legio XIII Gemina , which was assigned to the province of Dalmatia around this time . The last epigraphic evidence of the number from Cigmău (as well as from Dacia) dates to the year 245.

Germisara thermal baths

Water-rich landscape between Geoagiu Bai and Geoagiu (2008)

The Germisara thermal springs are located in the rising mountains, about five kilometers as the crow flies north of the Cigmău fort. Even before the arrival of the Romans, at least since the first century BC, these had been used by the highly developed culture of the Celtic-influenced Dacians for balneotherapy purposes. The Romans with their pronounced bathing system simply continued to use the natural conditions, just as they took over the originally Dacian name of the locality and developed Germisara into a spa and bathing resort that spread across the province and attracted patients and spa guests of all social classes. Among the guests there were two provincial governors from Apulum , M. Statius Priscus (156 / 157-158) and P. Furius Saturninus (159-161 / 162), decurions from Apulum and the Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa , an Augustale , also from Sarmizegetusa , simple soldiers from the forts Micia , Hoghiz and Cigmău, as well as residents of the auxiliarvicus of Cigmău. A total of 34 votive inscriptions found in Germisara come from 31 different people, 14 of whom lived outside the immediate region.

The ruins of this thermal bath include stone and brick buildings, water tanks and basins, some of which have been dug deep into the rock, as well as a branched network of pipes for hot and cold water. In addition to these structural structures, numerous fragments of monuments, statues, reliefs as well as inscribed columns and altars were found. They contain dedications to gods, demigods and nymphs such as Sulis / Minerva , Diana Augusta , Fortuna , Hercules Invictus , Asclepius , Hygieia and the "most sacred and salutary nymphs " ( Nimphae sanctissimae et salutferae ). The existence of a nymphaeum in Germisara is proven by the numerous inscriptions and the finds of eight golden votive leaves.

  • Germisara Thermal Bath Complex (2012)

  • Germisara Thermal Bath Complex (2013)

  • Germisara Thermal Bath Complex (2011)

  • Germisara Thermal Bath Complex (2012)

  • Germisara Thermal Bath Complex (2012)

Lost property and monument protection

Magna Curia (Castelul Bethlen), seat of the Muzeul Civilizației Dacice și Romane in Deva

The archaeological finds from Germisara and the Cigmău fort are in the Muzeul Civilizaţiei Dacice şi Romane ( Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization ), the former Muzeul Judecean Hunedoara (Hunedoara District Museum ) in Deva .

The entire archaeological sites and in particular the fort and the thermal baths are protected as historical monuments according to Act No. 422/2001 passed in 2001 and are in the national list of historical monuments with the LMI code HD-IsA-03172 ( Lista Monumentelor Istorice ) . Responsible is the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage (Ministerul Culturii și Patrimoniului Na ,ional) , in particular the General Directorate for National Cultural Heritage, the Department of Fine Arts and 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

  • Riccardo Bertolazzi: Notes on the Cults of National Numeri Stationed in the Danubian Provinces . In Livio Zerbini (ed.): Culti e Religosità nelle province danubiane. Atti del II Convegno Internazionale Ferrara 20-22 November 2013 . Emil, Bologna 2015, ISBN 978-88-6680-130-6 , pp. 186-189, ( digitized version ).
  • Imola Boda, Călin Timoc and Victor Bunoiu: Population dynamics at the spas of Roman Dacia . Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 23.1 (2017), p. 178f., ( Digitized version ).
  • Ioan Cohut and Miklós Árpási: Ancient uses of geothermal waters in the Precarpathian area of ​​Romania and the Pannonian basin of Hungary. World Geothermal Congress 1995, pp. 243f., ( Digitized version ).
  • Andrea Cumurciuc: The Cult of Springs in Roman Dacia on the Basis of Epigraphic evidence. Transylvanian Review 20 (2011), pp. 125-132.
  • Nicolae Gostar: Inscript, ii sj monumente din Germisara. Sargetia 3 (1956), pp. 57-99.
  • Nicolae Gudea : The Dacian Limes. Materials on its story. In: Yearbook of the Römisch Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz. 44, 2, 1997, pp. 103f., ( 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. 122-128.
  • Ioan Piso and Adriana Rusu: Nymphaeum-ul de la Germisara. Revista Monumentalor Istorice 36 (1990), pp. 9-17, ( digitized ).
  • Dori Ursut and F. Fodorean. The "Via Silica Strata" Geoagiu-Bai-Cigmau. An Archaeological, Geo-topographical and technical study. Acta Musei Napocensis. I, Preistorie, istorie veche, arheologie 38 (2001), pp. 203–220.

Web links

Commons : Cigmău Castle  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Roman Settlement Germisara  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Route / section / fort number (based on Nicolae Gudea , 1997).
  2. ↑ a b Legio XIII Gemina: CIL 03, 08065,14h , IDR-03-03, 00226,1 , IDR-03-03, 00226,3 , IDR-03-03, 00226,4 , IDR-03-03, 00226,4b , AE 1974, 00542 , IDR-03-03, 00226,2 , AE 2003, 01513 (dating 211 to 217) and AE 2015, 01187 .
  3. ↑ a b Numerus Singulariorum Peditum Britannicianorum: AE 1967, 00412a , AE 1967, 00412c , AE 1967, 00412d , CIL 03, 08076,32c , CIL 03, 08076,32d , CIL 03, 12573 (dating 245), AE 2010, + 01377 (dating 208 to 210), IDR-03-03, 00219 , AE 2015, 01182 (dating 238 to 244), AE 2015, 01185 (dating 131 to 170), CIL 03, 01396 (dating 186) and AE 2010, +01377 .
  4. ↑ a b c Ioan Cohut and Miklós Árpási: Ancient uses of geothermal waters in the Precarpathian area of ​​Romania and the Pannonian basin of Hungary. World Geothermal Congress 1995, pp. 243f., ( Digitized version ).
  5. ↑ Ioan Piso and A. Rusu: Nymphaeum-ul de la Germisara. Revista Monumentalor Istorice 36 (1990), pp. 9-17.
  6. ↑ Nicolae Gudea: The Dacian Limes. Materials on its story. In: Yearbook of the Römisch Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz. 44, 2, 1997, p. 103, ( digitized version ).
  7. ↑ Tab. Peut. VIII, 1.
  8. ↑ Ptol. 3,8.4.
  9. ↑ Rav. Cosm. 4.7.
  10. ↑ Lucia Marinescu: Germisara (Geoagiu) Hunedoara, Romania . In: Richard Stillwell (Ed.): The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites . Princeton University Press, Princeton (NJ) 1976, p. 350.
  11. ↑ Nicolae Gudea: The Dacian Limes. Materials on its story. In: Yearbook of the Römisch Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz. 44, 2, 1997, pp. 103f., ( Digitized version ).
  12. ^ William S. Hanson and Ioana A. Oltean: The identification of Roman buildings from the air. Recent discoveries in Western Transylvania. Archaeological Prospection 10.2 (2003), pp. 101-117.
  13. ^ William S. Hanson and Ioana A. Oltean: A Spy in the Sky. The Potential of Historical Aerial and Satellite Photography for Archaeological Research . In this. (Ed.): Archeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives . Springer, New York 2013, ISBN 978-1-4614-4504-3 , pp. 3–10.
  14. ↑ Ioana A. Oltean: A Lost Archaeological Landscape on the Lower Danube Roman Limes. The Contribution of Second World War Aerial Photographs . In: William S. Hanson and Ioana A. Oltean (Eds.): Archeology from Historical Aerial and Satellite Archives . Springer, New York 2013, ISBN 978-1-4614-4504-3 , pp. 147-164.
  15. ↑ Adriana Pescaru, Eugen Pescaru and Angelica Balos: Geoagiu, com. Geoagiu, jud. Hunedoara (Germisara), Punct Dealul Urieşilor - Castrul militar , 2001 on the Sait întreținut de Institutul Național al Patrimoniului, colectivul CIMEC (Romanian) website , accessed on March 17, 2019.
  16. ↑ Adriana and Eugen Pescaru: Geoagiu, com. Geoagiu, jud. Hunedoara (Germisara) Punct Dealul Urieşilor - Castrul militar , 2002 on the website Sait întreținut de Institutul Național al Patrimoniului, colectivul CIMEC (Romanian), accessed on March 17, 2019.
  17. ^ 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. 122f.
  18. ^ 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. 123-126.
  19. ^ 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. 126f.
  20. ↑ CIL 03, 12573 .
  21. ^ 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. 127f.
  22. ↑ CIL 03, 07822 .
  23. ↑ For example, AE 1967, 00415 .
  24. ↑ CIL 03, 01398 .
  25. ↑ CIL 03, 01397 .
  26. ↑ Imola Boda, Călin Timoc and Victor Bunoiu: Population dynamics at the spas of Roman Dacia . Studia Antiqua et Archaeologica 23.1 (2017), p. 178f., ( Digitized version ).
  27. ↑ AE 2003, 01513 and AE 1992, 01479 .
  28. ↑ CIL 03, 01393 .
  29. ↑ CIL 03, 01394 .
  30. ↑ IDR-03-03, 00230 , IDR-03-03, 00231 and AE 1944, 00059 .
  31. ↑ IDR-03-03, 00231 , AE 1944, 00059 and AE 1992, 01480 .
  32. ↑ AE 2015, 01186 , CIL 03, 01395 , CIL 03, 01396 , CIL 03, 01397 , AE 2010, +01377 , AE 1992, 01481 , AE 1992, 01482 , AE 1992, 01483 , AE 1992, 01484 , AE 1992, 01485 and AE 2015, 01187 .
  33. ↑ Carmen Ciongradi: Golden and silver votive leaves from the Roman Dacia . Acta Musei Napocensis, 50 / I (2013), pp. 127-58, ([digitized]).
  34. ↑ Andrea Cumurciuc: The Cult of Springs in Roman Dacia on the Basis of Epigraphic evidence. Transylvanian Review 20 (2011), pp. 125-132.
  35. ↑ Muzeul Civilizaţiei Dacice şi Romane Deva , official website of the museum (Romanian), accessed on March 17, 2019.
  36. ↑ Nicolae Gudea: The Dacian Limes. Materials on its story. In: Yearbook of the Römisch Germanisches Zentralmuseum Mainz. 44, 2, 1997, p. 104, ( digitized version ).
  37. ↑ List of historical monuments on the website of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage