Exploring Roman Dacia through Archaeology!
When it rains it pours. The beginning of August was exactly that. On one day we watched as a large rain storm came right for ARVP over the mountains and down into the valley.
While it rained us off site, some people still had to go to work. This included the shepherd, his sheep, and his wonderful sheepdogs that kept everyone in line.
This was still a very productive day off the site. The team learned about photogrammetry software and the process of photogrammetry!
On the first day out in the field, there was a group effort to create pathways and expose the excavation units. This involved some light gardening and the removal of many soybean plants. Once the areas were cleared, it was time to start excavating and removing the agricultural topsoil.
Over the last week, both teams have been hard at work removing topsoil from the Roman buildings underneath. Both areas have exposed Roman foundations from the main villa home, complete with beautiful round apses, a common feature of Roman villas.
Both area A and B have discovered some wonderful artifacts even within the topsoil. Area A discovered a silver Roman period coin, while Area B discovered several metal items, including a Roman nail, and the tip of a Roman knife blade. Other interesting artifacts discovered included pottery, ceramic building material, and animal bone, related to the occupation of the villa.
Related Sources:
Winbolt, S. K. (1926), The Roman Villa at Folkestone. Archaeologica Cantiana, 38, 45–50.
Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine you are in a field of sunflowers and soybean plants surrounded by rolling hills in the near distances with flocks of sheep and orchards. Further in the distance is a mountain range that seemingly goes on forever. Right in the middle of all of this natural beauty is our excavation! Are you jealous yet?
This is the first post for the Apulum Roman Villa Project (ARVP) 2019. The first field season is already underway. So far, we have had about a week of archaeological excavations and have made some tremendous progress. There are two main areas this season that will be explored. Area A is focused on understanding the main residential building at ARVP. Area B is focused on understanding activities happening within additional buildings at the villa.
This blog will address the everyday life of this dirty team of archaeologists! I will be updating the progress that we make every few days and the field trips that we take on Sundays. Get excited for more posts to come!
This year, our first Sunday excursion was truly monumental. I meant it. This was the first year, starting in 2013, that Matt led the group on a tour of the Alba Carolina Citadel. Every single year, Mariana gives the tour, but this time, she went home to Deva. I can’t say if Matt led a better tour, but the tour included ice cream and langoș (a delicious fried dough smothered in sour cream, garlic, and cheese).
The citadel has a long history. First, it is located in the heart of Alba Iulia, Romania. The first use of the space was as a Roman period fortress for the Gemina XIII legion. During the Roman period, Alba Iulia was known as Apulum and was the administrative center of the Roman province, Dacia. It was a wealthy town with a bustling economy via agriculture and trade.
Our first stop in the citadel was to the Roman period Principia, or administrative center, of Apulum.
The Austrian Empire Alba Carolina Citadel
After we explored the Principia, we stopped for ice cream and langoș. Let me just reiterate how amazing langoș is. Langoș is the savory doughnut you never knew you were missing. I crave langoș all year long and I will grab an opportunity I have to sink my teeth into a piping hot, melty, creamy, crunchy langoș.
But I digress. Back to the citadel.
The citadel is a star-burst shaped fortress that was completed in 1738 by the Habsburg Austrian Empire. In the last decade, the city of Alba Iulia has made a concerted effort to restore the fortress to its former glory for visitors and locals to enjoy. Within the fortress there are walking paths, churches, restaurants, monuments, museums, and more.
We stopped by St. Michaels Catholic Church, a building that has been constructed and reconstructed repeatedly since the eleventh century. The massive building that stands today was first built in the thirteenth century and more recently. It is a beautiful and very cool (temperature-wise; it was a very hot day) church with a beautiful tower and a gorgeous interior. Several important figures are entombed within the church. We got to the church just in time for a wedding ceremony to be proceeding from the church. Always an archaeologist, never a bride.
One of the most amazing and unique buildings in the citadel is the Batthyaneum Library. The building was built at the end of the eighteenth century, originally as a church, and is home to one of the rarest book collections in the world. The Batthyaneum houses over 70,000 books, manuscripts, documents, and incunabula among other things. The oldest objects date to the middle of the fifteenth century. We did not go this year to visit the Library (yet), but it is something worth knowing about if you ever get a hankering for the first edition of Homer’s Work written in 1488.
National Museum of the Union
This museum has it all. The collection displays a wide array of artifacts and finds starting from prehistory to modern times. Andreea briefly talked about Iron Age Dacia (since Aurel was not around) and the history of pre-Roman Dacians. Then we gawked at Roman period artifacts and prayed to Mithras, Apollo, Liber Pater, and many other gods, that we will find artifacts as awesome as these ones.
It was an action packed Sunday, stay tuned for updates from the field and excursions. I might even be able to convince someone to right a guest post and then you don’t have to read about langoș. Please do find and eat a langoș soon. I’m not kidding about how delicious they are.
Apulum Roman Villa Project