Arcobara
(previously identified as Arcobadara
) also known as Castra of Ilișua was a
fort
A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from La ...
in the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...
of
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It thus ro ...
in the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD.
It was unearthed in the village Ilişua (commune
Uriu
Uriu () is a commune in Bistrița-Năsăud County, Transylvania, Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hung ...
,
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
) in 1978.
The fort was garrisoned by ''Ala I Tungrorum Frontoniana''.
On the site 27 stone
ballista
The ballista (Latin, from Ancient Greek, Greek βαλλίστρα ''ballistra'' and that from βάλλω ''ballō'', "throw"), plural ballistae or ballistas, sometimes called bolt thrower, was an Classical antiquity, ancient missile weapon tha ...
projectiles were discovered of diameters between 7 and 13.5 cm and weighing up to 2 kg
indicating the presence of
ballistarii.
History
Three phases of the castra are known:
1.The earth and timber fort was established.
2.Possibly during the early years of
Hadrian
Hadrian ( ; ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. Hadrian was born in Italica, close to modern Seville in Spain, an Italic peoples, Italic settlement in Hispania Baetica; his branch of the Aelia gens, Aelia '' ...
's reign ''ala Tungrorum Frontoniana'' was stationed here, leading to an enlargement of the fort.
3.The last phase of the fort included a leveling of some of the previous buildings and fortifications and the construction of stone walls.
See also
*
List of castra
Castra (Latin, singular castrum) were military forts of various sizes used by the Roman army throughout the Empire in Europe, Asia and Africa.
The largest castra were permanent legionary fortresses.
Locations
The disposition of the castra refl ...
*
Limes Porolissensis
Located in present-day Romania, ''Limes Porolissensis'' was the frontier of the Roman Empire in Dacia Porolissensis, the northernmost of the three Roman Dacia, Dacian provinces. It was a defensive line dating from the 2nd century AD after the Co ...
External links
Roman castra from Romania - Google MapsEarth
Notes
Roman auxiliary forts in Romania
Ancient history of Transylvania
Historic monuments in Bistrița-Năsăud County
Limes Porolissensis
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