Micia : Castra, Vicus, Thermae, Amphitheatre Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Micia

Location within Romania

Known also as

Castra of Mintia
Castra of Vețel

Founded2nd century ADAbandonedc. 4th–5th century ADPlace in the Roman worldProvinceDaciaAdministrative unitDacia ApulensisAdministrative unitDacia SuperiorNearby waterMarisusDirectly connected toGermisara, (Hunedoara)Structure— Stone structure —Size and area181 m × 360 m (6.5 ha) — Wood and earth structure —Stationed military units— Legions —

vexill. XIII Gemina
vexill. IV Flavia Felix^[1]

— Cohorts —

I Aurelia Antonina milliaria Hemesenorum^[2]
II Flavia Commagenorum sagittaria^[1]^[2]^[3]

— Alae —

I Augusta Ituraeorum sagittaria^[1]
I Hispanorum Campagonum^[3]

— Numeri —Maurorum Micensium^[3] LocationCoordinates45°54′43″N 22°48′55″E / 45.911806°N 22.815278°E / 45.911806; 22.815278Altitude186 m (610 ft)TownVețelCountyHunedoaraCountry

RomaniaReferenceRO-LMIHD-I-s-A-03214 ^[4]RO-RAN91991.01 ^[4]Site notesRecognition

National Historical MonumentExhibitionsMuzeul Civilizației Dacice și Romane, Deva

Micia was initially a large Roman fort for auxiliary troops outside which a large town developed. The archaeological site is located in the municipality of Vețel (Witzel), Hunedoara County in Transylvania, Romania.

It was important as it monitored and secured the road to the centre of Transylvania and the river route along the frontier to Partiscum, today Szeged, Hungary as well as supervising the adjacent mining area. In addition, there was a strategically important river port.

In the civil settlement were large baths and a small amphitheatre. The large number of ancient inscriptions are significant.

Castra

It had a quadrilateral shape of 360 x 180 m placed unusually with the long sides to the east/west unlike traditionally with the narrow side facing the enemy. It lies across the modern road and railway.

View from thermae (2014)
Nordic vallum of the fort (2014)
Eastern vallum of the fort (2014)
Western vallum of the fort (2014)
The plan of castra

Vicus

Buildings (2014)
Buildings (2014)
The Marisus river north of the vicus (2014)

Thermae

Thermae (2014)
Thermae (2014)
Thermae (2014)

Amphitheatre

100 m to the southeast of the military bath is a small amphitheatre with a circumference of 104 m. The arena was of diameter 31 × 29 m.^[5]

amphitheatre (2014)
plan of amphitheatre

Necropolis

Funerary monument, 2nd century AD.
Funerary monument, 2nd century AD.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Micia". Archived from the original on 2012-11-16. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
^ ^a ^b Țentea, Ovidiu (2012). EX ORIENTE AD DANUBIUM - The Syrian units on the Danube frontier of the Roman Empire. MEGA Publishing House. Retrieved 2014-03-17.
^ ^a ^b ^c Tactică, strategie și specific de luptă la cohortele equitate din Dacia Romană, Petru Ureche^{[permanent dead link]}
^ ^a ^b "Situl arheologic de la Veţel-Micia". National Archaeological Record of Romania (RAN). ran.cimec.ro. 2013-06-06. Archived from the original on 2014-03-04. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
^ Russell L. Sturzebecker: Photo Atlas. Athletic-Cultural Archaeological Sites in the Greco-Roman World. Europe, North Africa & the Middle East. Russell L. Sturzebecker, West Chester, PA 1985. ISBN 0-9600466-2-3. p. 349.