Archaeological Techniques and Research Center
Exploring the Roman Frontier
July 11 - August 07, 2010
The historical landscape of Transylvania stands in testimony of the clashes between the Dacians (i.e. "The bravest of all the Thracians" - Herodotus, Histories) and the Roman Empire: every mighty "eagle nest" Dacian fortresse in the Carpathian Mountains has a roman castrum in the plains below as a "guardian". At the foothill of the Rasnov medieval fortress (Transylvania, Brasov County, Romania), in the beautiful Barsa valley, in sight of Bram Stoker's Bran Castle and the great medieval town of Brasov with its Black Church we can still explore the fortifications that housed Cohors VI Nova Cumdavensis.
Bran Castle, Rasnov Fortress and Medieval Brasov
Whether it took the form of open conflict or not, there had been long standing animosity between Romans and Dacians. During the second half of the First Century AD, Dacian armies successfully attacked and pillaged Roman Moesia. The Roman punitive expedition ordered by Domitian in 87AD ended in disaster at the Battle of Tapae where a legion was completely destroyed and four other were decimated. The tenuous peace that resulted from a more successful campaign in 88AD forced Rome to pay a tribute to the Dacian king Decebalus. Some historians see this humiliating treaty as the cause for Domitian's assasination in 96.
Further raids on Moesia and the defeat of another Roman army (and the execution of the imperial legate) culminated in the Roman invasion of Dacia under Trajan in two wars in 102AD and 106AD. To defend newly conquered territory, Romans constructed a string of castra (military camps, forts) along the boundary known as the limes. Castrum Cumidava was one such fort.
Over the past century, there have been several excavations of the site, the most recent starting in 2006. The research shows that the site consists of two fortifications, one earthen (110 X 114 meters), the other of stone (124 X 118 meters), which were used over a period of 150 years, with probably abandonment in 250 AD with the invasion of the Goths. The site has produced a variety of materials, including Roman coins, tools, pottery, and weapons and other military equipment.
This project aims at a better understanding of the frontier dynamics and the Daco-Roman creolisation processes taking place at the edge of the Empire.
During the 2010 field season, we will limit ourselves to an intensive soil chemistry survey around the castrum Cumidava in Rasnov (Brasov, Romania). The principal compound we will be looking for is phosphorous (P), which is found naturally occurring in the soil as phosphate, as well as being deposited by organic means. The goal of the survey is to locate extra-military support structures for the castrum, such as civilian settlements and cemeteries.
The collection of soil samples will be done with soil cores, collecting 10cm increments to at least a meter depth. These samples will be collected in a 25m by 25m grid that will be plotted around the castrum proper. The sample will be bagged and labeled for later testing back at camp.
Rasnov Castrum from the Air
A view from within...
Stone fortifications
