The Roman castra Arutela is a historical monument, situated between Paușa and Căciulata, near the town

Călimănești Călimănești, often known as Călimănești-Căciulata, is a town in Vâlcea County, southern Romania. It is situated in the historical region of Oltenia and the northern part of the county, on the traditional route connecting the region to Tr ...

. It is estimated to have been constructed between 137 – 138 A.D. The building lies on the left bank of the

Olt River The Olt (Romanian and Hungarian; german: Alt; la, Aluta or ', tr, Oltu, grc, Ἄλυτος ''Alytos'') is a river in Romania. It is long, and its basin area is . It is the longest river flowing exclusively through Romania. Its average discha ...

, nearby the Cozia Monastery and the Turnu hydropower complex. The dating of the construction was done based on inscriptions discovered in two samples of the front of two of the castra's gates. These samples suggest that the castra was constructed in the time of Hadrian by a detachment of Syrian archers in 138, under the orders of Titus Flavius Constans, military governor of

Dacia Inferior Roman Dacia ( ; also known as Dacia Traiana, ; or Dacia Felix, 'Fertile/Happy Dacia') was a province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania and Banat (today ...

. The last coins discovered and dated at Arutela were issued between the years 220 – 223 A.D. Arutela also hosted a Dacian settlement, which enjoyed a prolonged existence under Roman rule.

Ancient sources

Ptolemy's Geographia

Tabula Peutingeriana

Etymology

History

Dacian town

Roman times

Archaeology

The first excavations at "Poiana Bivolari" were made in 1888–1889 in order to capture sulfurous thermal water. The excavation uncovered metal objects and Roman coins of Hadrian,

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...

, Iulia Doamna and

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...

. Between 1890 and 1892,

Grigore Tocilescu Grigore George Tocilescu (26 October 1850 – 18 September 1909) was a Romanian historian, archaeologist, epigrapher and folkorist, member of Romanian Academy. He was a professor of ancient history at the University of Bucharest, author of Mare ...

and

Pamfil Polonic Pamfil Polonic (27 August 1858 – 17 April 1943) was a Romanian archaeologist and topographer Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the land forms and features themselves ...

continued with partial excavations, completely uncovering Roman baths and partial ruins of the castra. These discoveries remain the only epigraphic materials found on the site. Between 1897 and 1902, the Arutela ruins were partially covered by the construction of a railroad between

Râmnicu Vâlcea Râmnicu Vâlcea (also spelled ''Rîmnicu Vîlcea'' or, in the past, ''Rîmnic-Vâlcea'', ) (population: 92,573 as per the 2011 Romanian census) is the county capital ( ro, Reședință de județ) and also the largest town of Vâlcea County, centr ...

and Râul Vadului, while the baths disappeared completely. In 1967, the National Military Museum reopened the research site until 1970, and opened it once more in 1978. The opening led to the complete exposure of the ruins which were not destroyed by the railroad construction. The archaeological excavations uncovered weapons, coins, pots and inscriptions, on display today at the Bucharest National Military Museum. After the excavations finished, the Arutela castrum became a historical monument of the Vâlcea County Committee of Culture and the Museum of History in

. In 1982–1983, the castrum was renewed in a project by the architect Aurel Teodorescu, following references prepared by Cristian Vlădescu, the coordinator of research previously performed by the Military Museum. The construction work was executed by C. Panco. The first "Praetorian gate" (''porta praetoria'') in Romania was reconstructed on the site.

Notes

References

Ancient

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Modern

* * * {{coord, 45.276667, 24.311944, display=title, type:landmark_region:RO-VL Dacian towns Archaeological sites in Romania Ruins in Romania Roman legionary fortresses in Romania History of Oltenia