Castra of Bumbești-Jiu – Vârtop

Location within Romania

Founded2nd century AD^[1]^[2]Abandoned2nd century AD^[1]^[2]Place in the Roman worldProvinceDaciaAdministrative unitDacia MalvensisAdministrative unitDacia InferiorDirectly connected to(Porceni)Structure— Wood and earth structure —Size and area126 m × 115 m (1.4 ha) Stationed military units— Legions —V Macedonica^{[citation needed]}— Cohorts —

IV Cypria^{[citation needed]}, I Aurelia Brittonum Milliaria^{[citation needed]}, I Augusta Nervia Pacensis Brittonum Milliaria^[3]

LocationCoordinates45°09′19″N 23°22′22″E / 45.155281°N 23.372697°E / 45.155281; 23.372697Altitudec. 280 mPlace nameVârtopTownBumbești-JiuCountyGorjCountry

RomaniaReferenceRO-LMIGJ-I-m-B-09127^[2]RO-RAN79317.02^[1]Site notesRecognition

National Historical MonumentConditionRuinedExcavation dates

1897 ^[4]^{[verification needed]}
1956 ^[5]^{[page needed]}

ArchaeologistsGrigore TocilescuExhibitions"Alexandru Ștefulescu" History and Archeology Museum

The castra of Bumbești-Jiu now known as Vârtop was a fort in the Roman province of Dacia.^[1] It is located 35 m west of the Târgu Jiu - Petroșani road, in Bumbești-Jiu (Romania). It defended and secured the entrance to the Jiului gorge and the Roman road from Bumbești through Porceni over the mountains, through the Vâlcan Pass to Sarmisegetuza.

The fort was built between the two Dacian Wars (101-102 and 105–106). Traces of a vicus (civilian settlement) were found nearby.

The earth and wood fort measures 126 m × 115 m. It was surrounded by an earth mound 14 m wide and 0.5–2 m high, a ditch 0.5 m deep and 11 m wide.

It seems that this fort ceased to be used as soon as the Castra of Bumbești-Jiu - Gară was built 800 m to the south.

External links

Roman castra from Romania - Google Maps / Earth Archived 2012-12-05 at archive.today
Castrele romane de la Bumbești Jiu, cea mai simplă soluție pentru dezvoltarea orașului

Notes

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Situl arheologic din epoca romană de la Bumbeşti Jiu - "Vârtop"". National Archaeological Record of Romania (RAN). ran.cimec.ro. 3 June 2009. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Lista Monumentelor Istorice 2010 ("2010 List of Historic Monuments")" (PDF). Monitorul Oficial al României, Partea I, Nr. 670 ("Romania's Official Journal, Part I, Nr. 670"), page 1217. Ministerul Culturii şi Patrimoniului Naţional. 1 October 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
^ Istoria Daciei romane, de Adrian Bejan Archived December 5, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Manuscrisele lui Pamfil Polonic". cimec.ro. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
^ Vlădescu, Cristian M. (1986). Fortificațiile romane din Dacia Inferior ("Roman Forts in Lower Dacia") (in Romanian). Scrisul Românesc.