Capidava

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Capidava (Kapidaua, Cappidava, Capidapa, Calidava, Calidaua ) was originally an important Geto-Dacian centre on the right bank of the Danube. After the Roman conquest, it became a civil and military centre in the province of Moesia Inferior (later Scythia Minor) and part of the defensive frontier system of the Moesian Limes along the Danube. It is located in the village with the same name in Constanța County, Romania.

Capidava (Kapidaua, Cappidava, Capidapa, Calidava, Calidaua ) was originally an important Geto-Dacian centre on the right bank of the Danube. After the Roman conquest, it became a civil and military centre in the province of Moesia Inferior (later Scythia Minor) and part of the defensive frontier system of the Moesian Limes along the Danube. It is located in the village with the same name in Constanța County, Romania.

Description

The site on a massive rock standing on the Danube provided a large surveillance area. The massif also had a natural moat starting from the Danube, turning around it on the NE side, almost up to the east corner of the fortified settlement. The fort played an important role as part of the Moesian Limes and was connected by road to Carsium, Ulmetum, Basarabi-Murfatlar and Cernavodă. The location of Capidava is verified by an inscription mentioning a vexillatio Capidabesium and on the measurements made on the ground, following the distance indicated in the Tabula Peutingeriana. The fort is rectangular with NW-SE sides of 105 x 127 m (1.33 ha) with walls over 2 m thick and 5–6 m high. It had 7 towers over 10 m, 3 of which are rectangular, 2 shaped as a quarter of a circle and 2 intermediate towers in the shape of a horseshoe (U). The fort also had a gate 2.5 m wide on the SE side that was the link to the rest of the territory, and a strategic outlet on the SW side of the tower towards the Danube, where the port used to be. The fort was also provided with a port including a wharf below the water, and storage and other annexes on the upper terrace, as well as with thermae (public bath house) outside the precinct walls, to the south-east. The port was a station of the fleet Classis Flavia Moesica whose main base was at Noviodunum. To the E and NE of the fortified settlement stretched the tumulus cemetery with rich incineration graves and further to the south with more modest graves. Human remains in the necropolis have been studied by geneticists.

Garrison

The vexillations and cohorts stationed at the Capidava fort were: Legio XI Claudia Legio I Italica Legio II Herculia Cohors I Germanorum Cohors I Ubiorum File:Capidava_Ruins_Panorama.jpg File:Capidava_Milestone_Panorama.jpg File:Capidava_Ruins_1.jpg File:Capidava_Ruins_2.jpg File:Capidava_Ruins_3.jpg File:Capidava_Ruins_4.jpg File:Capidava_Ruins_5.jpg File:Capidava_Ruins_6.jpg File:Capidava_Ruins_7.jpg File:Capidava_Ruins_8.jpg File:Capidava_Ruins_9.jpg Official Capidava Fortress Site at Constanța County Council Capidava at Encyclopedia Dacica Capidava at Turism Constanța - hosted by the Public Office for Tourism, Commerce and Public Services, part of the Constanța County Council Capidava - hosted by the Romanian National Institute of Historical Monuments Capidava article at ziare.com Cetatea Capidava (Dobrogea) Official Capidava Fortress Site at Constanța County Council Capidava at Encyclopedia Dacica Capidava at Turism Constanța - hosted by the Public Office for Tourism, Commerce and Public Services, part of the Constanța County Council Capidava - hosted by the Romanian National Institute of Historical Monuments Capidava article at ziare.com Capidava Illustrations and Images at cIMeC

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378536064 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.

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