ULPIA TRAIANA SARMIZEGETUSA

The antic city had an area of 32 ha surrounded by walls. In the hearth of the city were to main roads (cardo maximus oriented North-South and decumanus maximus oriented East-West), at its crossing being the main public building - Forum. But the city was not only inside the walls. Outside the walls, on a great area, were the villae, the craftmen workshops (brick makers, glass blowers), the temples and other public or private buildins. Also outside the walls were the cemeteries of the city (sepulcreta) identified at East and also at the West. The population was around 25.000 - 30.000 people.

AMPHITHEATRE

Situated at about 100 meters from the norhten side of the city wall, the ampfitheatre is the most big construction. In it's elliptical shape, it is build on a high and leveld place, it is 88 m long and 69 m width. It's capacity crowd is about 5000 people.

The primary material witch it was build with is river rock and on other places canion rock and bricks. The date of the construction is not knowed precisely, but it's estimated that it was built in the first years after the roman conquer. Restauration works were done in 158, witch is proved by the date on the roof tiles that were found by the researchers.

The amphitheatre is composed from two parts: the arena with some paralell elliptic wals, perpendicularely crossed by some other wall, in ray shape. It had two main gates (east&west) witch were used by the gladiators to enter and exit, and another two gates with marble coloums, for the workers.
In the middle of the arena there was a kind of sewer pipe, from witch was there able to get water.
After Dacia was abandoned, the building was used as a fort to defend against the atacks from the migrating people.

FORUM

The forum build by Traian, the civic and political-administrative center, was in the middle of thee town, at the cross road ot the two main roads which crossed Sarmizegetusa from East to West and from North to South.

Its entrance was monumental and had the aspect of a triumph arch on which was graved the inscription from the colony foundation. In the front of the entrance, bordered by four huge columns was the altar dedicated to the foundation ceremony. On both sides were artesian wells made from marble and decorated with statues. In the corners were the offices of some associations, as the handicraftsmen board which was in the Eastern corner.

The forum was composed first of all from a public square surrounded by the porch with columns and paved with lime and marble. In this square were many monuments and statues, some of the foundations are seen today. After that was a basilica, a big hall for several mettings, which have had a monumentale facade towards the yard, bordered by buttress. On the Eastern side of the basilica was a tribunal, the platform on which the judges were sitting (most of the time the two mayor of the town) and under which a prison was arrranged. On the basilica's side there were several rooms that were offices (ex. the archieve of the colony), as well as offices of some associations and corporations as was the augustals board. In the center of the side was the curia, the metting hall of the local council. Under it are two underground rooms, which were the thesaurus of the town. On its right is a passage to the second forum (initally the commercial market), which was built later and which was the religious center of Sarmizegetusa.
Back