Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains

Built in murus dacicus style, the six Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains, in Romania, were created in the 1st centuries BC and AD as protection against Roman conquest.

Their extensive and well-preserved remains present a picture of a vigorous and innovative ancient civilization. Today, treasure-hunters sometimes search the area, as Romania lacks legislation in this domain.

The six fortresses - Sarmizegetusa Regia, Costeşti-Cetăţuie, Costeşti-Blidaru, Piatra Roşie, Bănița and Căpâlna - that formed the defensive system of Decebalus were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, as well as the settlement and fortifications at Fețele Albe.

Sarmizegetusa Regia
The town of Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital and major fortress of the Dacian kingdom, probably built in the mid first century BCE. It consisted of perimeter walls and fortifications, a sacred precinct, and a settlement area primarily for nobles and supporting servants. It was located at the top of a 1200 meter hill with excellent visibility of the surrounding lands. The sacred precinct was on the east side of the town, with a prominent plaza and circular shrines. There were two settlement areas one on the east side and a larger one on the west. In addition to dwellings they included workshops, storage buildings, and agricultural processing areas. Notable for the time is a distribution system for drinking water that used ceramic pipes.

Piatra Roșie
Piatra Roșie, which means Red Rock, was a Dacian hill fort two days march to the west from Costești-Cetățuie, at Luncani in Boşorod municipality. It was built in two phases. In the first phase a long (102 m) rectangular main citadel was built at the height of land with watch towers on each end and two outlying watch towers. Later the larger area inside the watch towers was enclosed with walls. It appears that the hilltop was flattened in the process in order to produce a usable space.

Fețele Albe
Fețele Albe is a Dacian settlement on the southern side of Muncelului Hill, situated north of Sarmizegetusa Regia, separated from it by a sharp declivity. Along with numerous walls and resulting terraces, the site contained a sanctuary with circular stone pillars on the third terrace. The settlement was destroyed during the First Dacian War and rebuilt only to be finally destroyed by fire by Trajan's army during the Second Dacian War in 106 CE. The Romans then built a military camp (castrum) on the site.