SYSTEMATIC FIELD SURVEY ON LIMES TRANSALUTANUS. SĂPATA CASE

• Published in: Journal of Ancient History and Archaeology Vol. 4; no. 2
• Main Authors: Teodor, Eugen S., Ștefan, Magdalena, Bădescu, Alexandru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Mega Publishing House 11.07.2017
• Subjects: fort, vicus, pottery, field walking, magnetic susceptibility
• ISSN: 2360-266X; 2360-266X
• DOI: 10.14795/j.v4i2.261

Two adjoined forts and their surroundings, elements of the 3rd century Roman frontier in Dacia – Limes Transalutanus, which were last archaeologically investigated in 1930, were recently systematic surface surveyed, resulting in the identification of the associated civilian settlement in what seemed, at first glance, as an unexpected location, more distant than other military vici the team had previously identified along the same frontier line.Not only the limits of the settlement at Săpata were established, but also the density of occupation and territory division into various functional areas, allowing further interpretations regarding the network of ancient local roads and a better understanding of the way in which the Romans adjusted their built facilities to available resources (water) or exploited the strategical features of the relief.Using an efficient, quick and rather inexpensive combination of survey methods (field walking and measurements of the magnetic susceptibility of the soil applied on a 4.8 ha surface, followed by pottery typological and spatial distribution analysis), the investigation team tried to mitigate the challenging vegetation situation, adjusting likewise to the limited resources of a scheduled research project.  Data relevance was increased by applying statistical corrections and using complementary investigation methods in order to cover the various available types of land (relief, vegetation, visibility); while data integration was ensured employing a unitary spatial gridded system for fieldwork and also by relating the obtained results to the high resolution digital terrain model of the sites obtained during UAV photogrammetric aerial survey.In particular, the study takes the opportunity opened by the analysis of the Roman Age pottery found in Săpata vicus to debate on the significance of the traditional, yet not unitary perceived, scholarly division between ‘Chilia-Militari’ ware (dwelling on Dacian traditions) and Roman local production. The consistent percent of Chilia-Militari types in the collected lot and its uniform spatial distribution inside the civilian settlement raise questions about the potters’ identity, their social status and reason to revive older production techniques.Some data about a Middle Bronze Age settlement, belonging to Tei Culture, identified in the same surveyed area, are given also.