Samum (castrum)

Samum

Location within Romania

Known also as|

* Castrum of Cășei
* Castrum of Cășeiu

Founded during the reign of| Trajan
Founded| 101/102
Abandoned| 270/275
Place in the Roman world
Province| Dacia
Administrative unit| Dacia Apulensis
Administrative unit| Dacia Superior
Limes| Porolissensis
Directly connected to|

* Arcobadara
* (Gherla)

Structure
— Stone structure —
Built| Caracalla
Size and area| 165 m × 165 m (2.7 [1] ha)
— Timber structure —
Built during the reign of| Trajan
Stationed military units
— Cohorts —

* I Britannica milliaria Equitata[1][2]
* II Britannica milliaria[1]

— Alae —
I Flavia[1]
Location
Coordinates| 47°11′10″N 23°50′15″E﻿ / ﻿47.1862°N 23.8374°E﻿ / 47.1862; 23.8374
Altitude| 230 m (755 ft)
Place name| Cetățele [3]
Town| Cășeiu
County| Cluj
Country|  Romania
Reference
RO-LMI| CJ-I-s-B-06996.01 [3]
RO-RAN| 56675.02 [3]
Site notes
Recognition|  National Historical Monument
Condition| Ruined
Excavation dates|

* 1926–1929 [3]
* 1989 [3]
* 1995–2000 [3]
* 2004 [3]

Archaeologists|

* Dan Isac[3]
* Emil Panaitescu[3]
* Sorin Cociș[3]

Samum  was a castrum (fort) in the Roman province of Dacia, situated at the very northern border of that territory. It lay on the right (northern) side of the river Someș, in historical and later known as Transylvania, in of present Romania. Remnants of this relatively small fortified camp lie within the cadastre of village Cășeiu (near the town of Dej), 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) on the southwest edge of the village.

This castrum in a typical square shape was built as an auxiliary military camp at the beginning of the 2nd century, in times of the Emperor Trajan, while it was fully abandoned by the army (together with whole province of Dacia) after 270 AD, when Emperor Aurelian decided to give up the difficult-to-defend province. Traces of late Roman or post-Roman habitation have been noted.[4]

## History

[edit]

Like the other forts of Limes Porolissensis, it was initially built out of earth and wood just after the end of Trajan's Dacian Wars, and later rebuilt from stone. One particularity at Samum is the lack of archaeological evidence of a wooden palisade on top of the vallum.[5]

An inscription commemorating Julia Domna provided a clue to the timeframe when the fort defences were rebuilt from stone, a hypothesis confirmed by recent excavations.[6]

## Excavations

[edit]

The site is famous for being the source of a Roman inscription identified among the materials taken from it to build the Heller Castle in Coplean. The inscription (CIL III 827) was raised by Valerius Valentinus, a beneficiarius at the fort, for the goddess Nemesis and it is the first discovered mention of Samum castra. A line reading "…subsi[g](navit) Samum cum reg(ione) (tr)ans val(um)…" was interpreted by archaeologist Károly Torma as evidence of a regio transvalum which prompted him to look for its location, eventually leading to the discovery of the Roman ruins at Poieni and Bologa, and the beginning of Limes Porolissensis archaeological study.[7]

## See also

[edit]

* List of castra
* Limes Porolissensis

## External links

[edit]

* Roman castra from Romania - Google Maps / Earth

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Casei
2. ^ Tactica, strategie si specific de lupta la cohortele equitate din Dacia Romana, Petru Ureche[permanent dead link‍]
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Situl arheologic de la Căşeiu (Samum) - "Cetăţele"". Repertoriul Arheologic Naţional (RAN). CIMEC. 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2013-06-01.
4. ^ "Repertoriul Arheologic Naţional". ran.cimec.ro. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
5. ^ Boragno, Lorenzo (6 January 2022). "The iron of the Empire: the production of iron made military equipment in the province of Dacia (AD 106 - AD 270)" (PDF). HAL. p. 299. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
6. ^ Boragno 2022, p. 300.
7. ^ Cociș, Horațiu. "Linear Fortifications on the North–Western Frontier of Dacia Porolissensis. An Overview in V. Bârcă (ed.), Orbis Romanus and Barbaricum, 2016". p. 42.

47°11′10.40″N 23°50′15.50″E﻿ / ﻿47.1862222°N 23.8376389°E﻿ / 47.1862222; 23.8376389

* v
* t
* e

Limes Dacicus

Alutanus|

* (Hoghiz) ?
* (Cincșor)
* (Feldioara)
* Caput Stenarum
* Pons Vetus
* Praetorium
* Arutela
* (Rădăcinești)
* Buridava
* Castra Traiana
* Pons Aluti
* Rusidava
* Acidava
* Romula
* (Slăveni)
* (Islaz)

Transalutanus|

* Cumidava
* (Drumul Carului)
* (Rucăr)
* (Voinești)
* Jidava
* (Purcăreni)
* (Albota)
* (Săpata de Jos)
* (Fâlfani)
* (Izbășești)
* (Urluieni)
* (Crâmpoia)
* (Gresia)
* (Roșiorii de Vede)
* (Salcia)
* (Băneasa)
* (Putineiu)

Porolissensis|

* Resculum
* (Gilău)
* (Buciumi)
* Optatiana
* Largiana
* Certiae
* (Jac)
* Porolissum
* (Tihău)
* Samum
* Arcobara
* (Livezile)
* (Orheiu Bistriței)
* (Brâncovenești)

Eastern frontier|

* (Orheiu Bistriței)
* (Brâncovenești)
* (Gurghiu)
* (Călugăreni)
* (Sărățeni)
* Praetoria Augusta
* (Odorheiu Secuiesc)
* (Sânpaul)
* Angustia
* (Olteni)
* (Boroșneu Mare)
* (Cristești)
* (Hoghiz)
* (Băile Homorod)
* (Ocland)
* (Baraolt)
* Rupes
* (Brașov)
* Cumidava

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