Romana Dacian Fortress

  

BANITA    (comuna Banita)

     East of Banita there is a limestone almost cone shaped small hill (904m) called Dealul Cetatii or Dealul Bolii. At the bottom of the West, North and North –West hillsides, there flows Banita stream and Jigoreasa and Bolii stream flow out in it.
     The only hillside that can be accessed , but with much difficulty is the Northern one where the fortification elements were placed , on levels. The first of them is a long wall of 115m and 2m thick erected on the Norhtern and partly on the North-East slopes.
     The construction technique is known under the name of murus Dacicus. The wall consists of two paraments made of finished limestone blocks connected by transverse wood clamps which ends were fixed at locations dug in the parament blocks.
     Between the two paraments there was the earth and stone emplecton . To the North-East side of the wall there was the entry to the fortress consisting of a large limestone step gate with andesite balustrades. The gate width ( at its lower part) at the entry os 2.50m , the opposite side being 3.30m, and its length is 4.50m. Beyond this gate there is the upper plateu of the fortress , in fact three terraces with steps. The second of them is supported by a wall erected using the same technique like the previous one, and it is 1.40 m thick. In this case, the corner blocks are provided with vertical profile structures. At the upper part, the wall could be ended with pinnacles or wood balustrade . The rectangular yard was 22x17m. It seems that the wall ended at the upper part with a limestone balustrade. Inside it, there is a rectangular wood building placed on a foundation made of limestone blocks. To the West and South edges of the terrace two channels were dug in the rock to drain the rainfall water. Before the last terrace, another wall encloses the three sides of a levelled rock surface area, and close to its centre part there were preserved four circular holes where probably, the supporting pillars of a wood watching tower were placed. The third terrace was surrounded by a wall built using the same technique; at the middle there was erected a wood and clay tower. On the North –West hillside there was arranged a fight platform of 18m long bordered at its lower part by a wall put directly on the stepped rock. The South, East and West slopes were very steep so that they almost did not need any defending construction erection on them. But, although there were not found any traces of some palisades we cannot exclude their existence.
     The role of Banita fortress was to defend the access from the South to Sarmizegetusa Regia. The defensive system of the fortresses and civilian Dacian settlements of this zone could have not been understood without this fortress. In Valea Galbenei ( North) and particularly, in Valea Jiguresei, the access is relatively easy to the Rau Ses and Borascu plateaus and in summer, the walk to the Dacian capital , reaching its back side, is possible. Besides this access way, there is also the possibility to pass through Banita –Merisor (756m) defile to reach Baru locality and from there, either to take Valea Pietrosu or Ponor-Ponorici – Poiana Omului to reach Gradistea Muncelului. The destruction of the fortification has to be dated during the first war with Trajan (101-102 p. Chr.,) and was on behalf of the Roman troops advance from South. As no rehabilitation stage was noticed on Dealul Cetatii, there results that after the 102 peace the fortress had never been functioning any longer.










 

Dacian bronze bracelets
Dacian bronze bracelets
Jeweler's anvil
Jeweler's anvil
Patterns of clay
Patterns of clay