Cumidava 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 of

Dacia Apulensis Roman Dacia ( ; also known as ; or Dacia Felix, ) 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 all in Romania, except the last regio ...

. It is located at northwest of the city

Râșnov Râșnov (; ; ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect: ''Ruusenåå''; Latin: ''Rosnovia'') is a town in Brașov County, Transylvania, Romania with a population of 15,920 as of 2021. It is located at about southwest of the city of Brașov and about the s ...

, Romania near the city of Vulcan. The site is located on the middle terrace of Bârsa River. It was part of the Roman frontier system of the

Limes Transalutanus Limes Transalutanus is the modern name given to a fortified frontier system of the Roman Empire, built on the western edge of Teleorman County, Teleorman's forests as part of the Dacian Limes in the Roman province of Roman Dacia, Dacia, moder ...

in a strategic position to the north of the

Rucăr–Bran Pass The Rucăr–Bran Pass, also called in English the Bran Pass (, ), is a mountain pass in Romania, linking the counties of Brașov County, Brașov and Argeș County, Argeș. It has some of the most spectacular natural views in Romania, looking ove ...

. It was a large fort sufficient for a ''milliaria'' or ''quingenaria equitata'' cohort. Several overlapping forts from different phases have been found. The earliest wooden and earth fort from the time of

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

measured 110x114 m surrounded by a 10 m wide and 2 m high earth mound and defensive ditch of depth 2 m on the NW and SW sides. The second construction phase was a stone fort of 118 × 124 m with the ''porta praetoria'' on the NE side and walls 1.5-1.7 m thick. On the NE and SE sides the wall was laid in the ditch of the wood and earth phase, the ditch behind being filled with the bank of the earth and wood phase. On the NE and SE sides were three defensive ditches of 5×1.75 m, 5.50×1.25 m and 1.65×0.80 m, while on the SW side two trenches (3×1.25 m, 2.80×1 m), and a single trench on the NW side. This phase dates to the later reign 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 '' ...

or the beginning of

Antoninus Pius Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Pius (; ; 19 September 86 – 7 March 161) was Roman emperor from AD 138 to 161. He was the fourth of the Five Good Emperors from the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Born into a senatorial family, Antoninus held var ...

. In 2016, as part of the LIMES National Program, geophysical surveys revealed a smaller fort (''castellum'') about 40 m east of the large fort and approximately 73×50 m, predating the stone fort. Approximately 78 m NNE of the stone fort a building consisting of two rooms with a semicircular apse oriented to the NW was found. Cumidava - Plan

Garrison

It was occupied by only two cohorts Vindelicorum Cumidavensis (cohors IV and cohors IV Nova) who had taken the name Cumidava (Komidava of Ptolemy)L'Année épigraphique: revue des publications épigraphiques relatives a l'antiquité romaine, Académie des inscriptions & belles-lettres (France) Presses Universitaires de France., 1968 as testified by an inscription found in the fort. The IV Vindelicorum, a ''peditata quingenaria'' cohort, was moved from

Arzbach Arzbach is a municipality in the district of Rhein-Lahn, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to ...

to Râșnov sometime in the beginning of the 3rd century and built a similar fort to that at Arzbach judging by the unusual character of the ancillary buildings inside.Marcu, The fort at Râșnov (Cumidava) and the Cohors Vindelicorum, Acta Musei Napocensis, 55, 2018 I: 205-226 Notably the headquarters building has a length-to-width ratio is reversed in relation to that of the fort, and there is a narrow courtyard, similar to the one at Râșnov.

Inscriptions

An inscription from 3rd century AD dedicated to Iulia Mamea was found here:

Notes

Works cited

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External links

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Roman castra from Romania - Google Maps

Earth
{{Limes Dacicus Roman Dacia Roman auxiliary forts in Romania Ancient history of Transylvania Historic monuments in Brașov County Râșnov Limes Transalutanus ro:Castrul roman Cumidava

Garrison

Inscriptions

See also

Notes

Works cited

External links