Though the dig ended on Saturday, the fun did not stop! For our final excursion we visited three places Castelul Corvinilor, Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa, and the Densus church.
The castle was certainly majestic, the kind of place you wouldn’t be surprised to see Dracula show up in. The stairs were twisty and small but the views at the top of the towers were certainly worth it. It was easy to get lost in the many rooms and each one had interesting architecture and fascinating history. The castle was built in the 1400s by John Hunyadi and the architecture reflects the gothic renaissance style popular at the time. Colloquially the castle is known as Dracula’s castle, as Vlad the impaler was said to have been imprisoned there. We didn’t see any vampires unfortunately, but it was still a great trip nonetheless.
Our second location was Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa where we first visited the museum to look at objects that have been found there, and then Matt gave us a great walking tour of the different features and history of the site. It was great to see another archeological site in the area, especially one with such a large and rich history. Sarmizegetusa was the Roman capital of Dacia and the while most of what was left was just outlines of buildings; the grandeur of the location cannot be denied.
We finished the day seeing what was done with roman ruins in modern times, visiting the Church of St. Nicholas in Densus, the oldest orthodox stone church in Romania. The church itself is beautiful, with stunning paintings on the wall and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. The most interesting aspect of the church are its stones. Building blocks from Sarmizegetusa were taken 15 kilometers to build the walls of the church. Thus the church is a gorgeous, fascinating inter-layered piece of history.
Apulum Roman Villa Project 