The Roman Castle of Potaissa

 

The Roman Castle of Potaissa is the most important historical and archaeological monument in the area. With great value for the national heritage, the castle belonged to the Fifth Macedonian Legion, built in 168 AD during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. The castle has long sides (north and south) of 573 m and short sides (east and west) of 408 m, and its rectangular shape covers an area of 23.37 ha. Its orientation and position meet the main requirements of military technicians of that time, with the decuman gate facing the higher area (west) and the plateau built on is protected from floods and streams while still close to a water source. The plateau has a dominant position over the ancient city and the surrounding territories, allowing for good visibility from the castle to considerable distances. In terms of size, the castle had the capacity to accommodate around 5,000 soldiers. The castle walls were constructed using rocks extracted from several nearby quarries, with thicknesses between 1.7-2 m. The castle ruins survived until late in the Middle Ages, with the dressed stones used to build many churches and other buildings in the center of Turzii. Several ancient objects - architectural elements, sculptures, mosaics, stone inscriptions, coins, small items - have been found in the castle and are now in various collections and museums in the country, such as the Turda History Museum, or abroad, mostly in Budapest and Vienna. It is the only legionary castle in Dacia that is not affected by construction and where archaeological excavations can be made, having the status of an archaeological reserve. A strong incursion into history, a living connection to the past. 

 

Archaeological Research

The earliest mentions of the castle ruins were recorded by foreign scholars passing through Turda in the 16th century, and the uncovering of some ancient pieces during the "excavations" in the Middle Ages on the "Dealul Cetății" plateau predates the discoveries within the systematic archaeological research of the V Macedonica legion's castle. At the end of the 19th century, the accidental discoveries in the castle were followed with interest and recorded in the journals of teacher and school inspector Istvan Teglas.

The archaeological research in the castle began in 1958 with the survey carried out by the Cluj archaeologist Ion Horatiu Crișan, on the occasion of the construction of some houses in the southeast corner of the castle, but was abandoned after a single campaign. Only in 1971, on the occasion of the construction of water reservoirs, the archaeological research on the north side would be resumed, where in 1950-1952 the remains of a large building (later identified as the horrea complex) were discovered, and would continue in annual campaigns without interruption. Initially, these researches were carried out under the coordination of Constantin Daicoviciu (1971-1972), and from 1973 to 2013 under the supervision of Professor Mihai Bărbulescu.

Since 2014 and until present, the systematic research is coordinated by Sorin Nemeti from the same Cluj University. Thus, the successive campaigns have led to the unveiling of several archaeological sites: between 1971-1974, the barracks and the horrea complex from the sinistrum latus praetorii were studied, between 1975-1977 the barracks, the bastion from the northwestern corner and the decuman gate; between 1978-1986 the command building (principia), between 1987-1992 the milliary cohort's barracks from the dextrum latus praetorii. Several archaeological campaigns from 1993, 1995-2008 aimed at researching the castle's baths (thermae), palestra, building ABCD and other adjacent constructions. In 1994 and the years 2008-2011, the research of the command building continued, revealing the porticos, respectively the court of this building. Between 2012-2016, the complex of centuriae from the sinistra praetentura was studied. 

 

Results of the Research

The Turda archaeological site has been a learning site for numerous generations of archaeology and history students.

The results of the archaeological research have been presented in reports and a large number of works, and the archaeological materials (antefixes, building materials, lamps, stamped ceramics, terracotta statuettes, fibulae, military equipment pieces, coins, sculptures, inscriptions, materials from the post-Aurelian period, etc.) have been published in studies and articles in Romania and abroad. In the last three decades, nine volumes have been published, six of which have the main subject of the fortress and the discoveries inside it, and three volumes about the Roman fortress and city of Potaissa.

Bibliographic sources: M. Bărbulescu, Potaissa. Monographic Study, Turda, 1994; M. Bărbulescu, From the military history of Roman Dacia. The 5th Macedonian Legion and the fortress at Potaissa, Cluj-Napoca, 1987; M. Bărbulescu (coord.), The thermal baths from the legionary fortress at Potaissa, ed. Mega, Cluj-Napoca, 2019.