Fortificația de la Divici-"Grad"

The fortification from Divici-"Grad" is located on the Danube Gorge, between river kilometers 1065-1066, on the last heights of the Almaj Mountains, occupying a triangular massif, with an area of ​​7000 square meters, which dominates with approx. 100m river course. Surrounded on three sides by steep slopes, it is accessible only on a narrow saddle from the north, barred in Antiquity with two defense ditches, having an opening of 6 and 10m, respectively, separated by what seems to have been a wave of earth. In the immediate vicinity of the fortification, on a series of anthropic terraces located on the eastern slopes of the promontory, numerous traces of habitation were observed - at the foot, on the banks of the Danube, there was also a contemporary civilian settlement, currently flooded as a result of the construction of the dam from The Iron Gates (Gumă et alii 1987; Gumă et alii 1995; Gumă et alii 1997; Glodariu 2004; Rustoiu 2005; Rustoiu 2006-2007).

Being at the congruence of two worlds, the Dacian warriors on the Danube Gorge built solid fortifications, integrated into a coherent system, aimed at controlling access to the key crossing points of the Danube. Consolidating their power through trade, but also through robbery, they were in the front line in front of the advance of the Roman armies towards the Danube, managing to resist until the time of the great Daco-Roman confrontations.

The curved weapons discovered in the ruins of the Dacian fortress at Divici, an important border fort, shed a strong light on the importance of this border point. It is probable that the garrison stationed here, in an obvious relationship with the power center in the Orăştiei Mountains, was made up of elite soldiers, the armament, the type of fortification, the tower itself, the geographical position converging towards this hypothesis.

Divici-"Grad" has the widest visibility area, controlling access to the Danube over a distance of approx. 25 km. It has a good view of the plains that climb the slopes of the Almaj Mountains, but also of the right bank of the river. The area where it was located is a widening area within the gorge, where the water of the Danube could be crossed in relative safety - more than that, in winter, in this sector, there is a tendency for ice bridges to appear. Merchant caravans or war bands in search of booty, once they reached the southern bank, could head to the wide valley of the Pek River, from where they could easily reach one of the most important commercial and military routes of the time - the Morava Valley. To the east, the wide valleys offered enough land for agriculture, the proximity to the mountain area also offered plenty of wood and stone, which were also used to build the fortification in the second and third phases of its existence, and fishing or hunting they could always become additional sources of food.

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