Florin STANESCU, Romania | ISBN: | Submitted: Jul 16, 1998

Sanctuaries in Virtual Reality: Sarmizegetusa-Regia, Romania

The ancient capital of the Dacians, Sarmizegetusa-Regia, lies in the Orastie Mountains, Romania. The Dacian kingdom was conquered by the Roman Emperor Traian, after two wars waged between him and the Dacian king Decebal, at the beginning of the 2nd century A.D. The unfolding of these wars had been stone immortalised, on the Traian's Column erected in Rome, Italy.

Although it had been known by the local inhabitants for a long time, the impressive complex of ruins at Sarmizegetusa-Regia in the Orastie Mountains was not mentioned in the literature until the first years of the XIX-th century, when the great hoard of Koson-Lisimachos golden coins was found there.

The periods of interest alternated with those of neglect. It is only during the last 30 years that the excavations directed by Constantin Daicoviciu, Hadrian Daicoviciu and currently by Ioan Glodariu have revealed the structures of the fortresses and sanctuaries as they are know today.

The complex is made up of three main sections: a civil settlement, the fortress and the so-called sacred terrace with the great sanctuaries. The Dacian fortress' walls, built and shaped as the Greek walls, were extended after the conquest in order to protect the powerful Roman camp placed there. Consequently, we have nowadays at Sarmizegetusa-Regia a similar wall type, but with two constructors, wherefrom the complex aspects of the situation existent here.

In the sacred precint, in the vicinity of the fortress walls, 11 round and rectangular sanctuaries were discovered. They were built at different times, during the reign of Burebista (the limestone construction) and at the beginning of the second century AD, in the years of Deceba's reign (the andesite construction).

Among these buildings, erected on the X-th and XI-th terraces, we come across the Great Limestone Sanctuaries (with 4 rows of 15 plinths), the Small Limestone Sanctuary (with 3 rows of 6 plinths), the Great Round Sanctuary, with a diameter of almost 30 m, the Small Round Sanctuary -with a diameter of almost 13 m, two other rectangular andesite sanctuaries, the Great Rectangular Andesite Sanctuary ( with 6 rows of 10 elements each) built on top of an older limestone sanctuary and, last but not least, the altar- sundial known as The Andesite Sun.

Sanctuaries are also of a diameter of almost 30m, the Small Round Sanctuary -with a diameter of almost 13 m, two other rectangular andesite sanctuaries , the Great Rectangular Andesite Sanctuary ( with 6 rows of 10 elements each) built on top of an older limestone sanctuary and, last but not least, the altar- sundial known as The Andesite Sun .

The archaeological discoveries have proved that these sanctuaries are not a singular case in the cultic and spiritual life of the Dacians. Sanctuaries are also present at Costesti, Racos, Brad, Barbosi Galati, Fetele Albe, Pustiosu, Batca Doamnei, but of smaller size of course, and lacking the stateliness of those at Sarmizegetusa - Regia.

Within the frame of a larger project intending the creating and administrating of larger databases - the Astro-Dacia project which other Romanian universities and museums also join - the paper has in view to mould by means of modern computer technical devices, o possible reality of what used to be here in antiquity.

The creating of a virtual model of some of the sanctuaries, as well as of the fortress, generally speaking, crosses the several necessary stages, actually compulsory stages, as are the simulating of a probable reality and then the testing of the outcomes through methods of mathematical moulding. The first stage is being facilitated by the existence of some accurate topographic relevees done by specialists at the Centre of Projections, Deva, dated 1984. There are being used databases comprising dimensional elements dated from the historical period: I century BC - I century AD.

Given the fact that there existed numerous attempts of reconstituting, belonging to several authors and researchers, there will be also done a comparison of the outcomes, through the moulding presented in the paper, by the above mentioned authors.

GRAPHICS: NONE

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[keywords]
World Heritage, Romania, Dacians, Sarmizegetusa-Regia, virtual archaelogical reconstruction