|
| |
|
SARMIZEGETUSA |
| |
|
|
| |
SARMIZEGETUSA , 15km southwest of Hateg, is the site of one of the
key Roman settlements. Having forced the Iron Gate, Trajan's legions
marched northeast to subdue the Dacian citadels in the Orastie mountains.
Within a few years they had founded towns, most notably Colonia Ulpia
Traiana, to which the name of the old Dacian capital, Sarmizegetusa, was
later appended. Today, the town's fame still derives from the Roman
ruins east of the centre, whose excavated portions are only part of the
original town, which centred on a citadel measuring some 700m long by
500m wide. You can see the remains of the forum, the palace of the
Augustales where priests were trained, and the elliptical brick and
stone amphitheatre where gladiatorial combats and theatrical spectacles
were staged. Start by visiting the museum (Tues-Sun 9am-5.30pm) across
the road from the ruins, which exhibits stonework and other artefacts,
and avoids mentioning the likelihood that most of the glorified "Roman"
colonists believed to have interbred with the Dacians to create the
ancestors of today's Romanians were actually of Greek or Semitic origin.
There's one bus a day, at 11am, from Hateg, returning at 12.30pm, which
gives just an hour to see Sarmizegetusa. Alternatively, you could choose
to stay overnight: the town has a recently refurbished motel (tel
054/777 360; $6-10), and there are three cabins (under $6) at the bar by
the entrance to the ruins.
It's only about 6km from Sarmizegetusa to Zeicani village (connected by
daily bus) at the entrance to the Iron Gate of Transylvania ( Poarta de
Fier a Transilvanei ), a narrow pass 700m above sea level. A monumental
mace erected near Zeicani commemorates the defeat of 80,000 Turks by
15,000 Transylvanians under the command of Hunyadi in 1442. Further up
the pass, in 106 AD, the Dacians had their fateful clash with the Romans;
as recorded by Roman scribes, this battle was a disaster for the Dacians
- their forces were crushed, and their ruler Decebal committed suicide
rather than be ignominiously paraded through the streets of Rome. The
pass itself is 10km long, and accessible by road (DN68); minimal rail
services resume at the mining village of Boutari on the far side.
|
| |
|
