Head of the Roman Limes Research Section at the Mures County Museum Szilamer Panczel told AGERPRES on Thursday that a series of previously unknown artefacts had been discovered during research carried out at the Calugareni Archaeological Park, including a Roman ‘cistern,’ a bronze vessel and ceramic vessels inscribed with various names.

‘Research began in 2013 and we had one year of interruption, during the pandemic year. In 2021 we focused on the defensive elements in the north-eastern corner of the fort, and from 2022 we returned to the command building of the fort. We focused on the inner courtyard of this building. After the demolition layers or those related to the destruction of the building, several interesting structures emerged: in the southern part of the courtyard we discovered a well that was paved with stone on the inside, which we managed to excavate completely during the 2025 campaign, meaning last summer. In the northern part of the courtyard, as a final intervention, we discovered a very large pit and we did not really understand what this huge pit might be. Only last year did we manage to clarify the function of this structure, namely that it is a cistern that collected rainwater from the roof of the building. It remained open, so it gradually filled with rubble and with the layers resulting from the destruction of the building. We managed to discover wooden structures linked to this cistern that are very well preserved, which is extremely rare for the Roman period: to have beams and planks that are 2,000 years old preserved,’ Szilamer Panczel, head of the Roman Limes Research Section at the Mures County Museum, told AGERPRES.

Due to the high groundwater level in the Niraj Valley, the archaeologist said, nearly 80 centimetres of the height of this cistern at the Calugareni Archaeological Park, renamed Limes Park Calugareni, has been preserved.

‘It measured approximately 2 by 6 metres and is full of archaeological material. We want to continue the research this summer and preserve, as far as possible, these wooden elements which give us the opportunity for more accurate dating based on pedochronological methodology, but also allow us to establish the species used. At the same time, we want to better understand how water was supplied to this army. We do not have traces of an aqueduct, as large cities or regional forts would have, so they had to provide water for soldiers, animals and construction activities through these cisterns. It is also unusual to have a cistern right in the middle of the courtyard. Wells have been discovered in other forts as well in the command building, but it is very interesting to have both a well and a cistern, perhaps from different phases, but in the same courtyard,’ Szilamer Panczel underlined.

This Roman cistern is not unique in Romania, the difference being found in certain construction elements.

‘It seems that at Jidova, also in the courtyard of the principia, a similar, relatively large pit was discovered. Yesterday colleagues from Bucharest suggested that it might be worth verifying. At Porolissum, also on the Dacian Limes, we had the opportunity to excavate a very large cistern, not in the inner courtyard but right next to the command building. However, that cistern was built of stone with a waterproof mortar, an insulating mortar, and the floor was paved with Roman bricks. It was much larger than our cistern but probably had the same function: it collected water from the roof of the command building and then supplied the praetorium, where the commander had his residence,’ Panczel explained.

As for the well at Calugareni, which is four metres deep, research carried out in 2022 showed that it has a square shape and is lined with stone. Dozens of relatively well preserved ceramic vessels were found inside it, some with the owners’ names incised on them, which represents a rarity.

But the major discovery in this well is an almost intact bronze jug, the first discovery of this kind at Calugareni.

‘These wells function like closed structures. At a certain point they stop being used and then they become like a time capsule, preserving everything that was thrown or fell into these structures. Thus we have very clear dating for these complexes. In the well a bronze jug was discovered, which was used for heating water. It is again a remarkable vessel, because at Calugareni we did not have bronze vessels of this quality and especially very well preserved ones. The vessel will be displayed this spring in the exhibition being prepared at Calugareni, following the completion of the investment under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. Work on the exhibition is already under way. Materials from this well will be displayed, the ceramic vessels have already been restored and they reflect very well the cultural influences of this province, but also the connection of this site with the rest of the Roman Empire. We have vessels that indicate links with the south-Danube area and vessels that indicate connections with the Pannonia region. We must think of Calugareni as a small cosmopolitan centre that was part of a vast empire and where people from different corners of the empire arrived,’ Szilamer Panczel pointed out.

In 2024, the site ‘Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Dacia,’ which also includes nine landmarks in the county – Brancovenesti, Calugareni, Sarateni, Vatava, Ideciu de Sus, Ibanesti, Chiheru de Jos, Eremitu and Campu Cetatii – was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

This achievement is based on numerous studies carried out for more than a decade, both within the National LIMES Programme and in other research projects coordinated by archaeologists from the Mures County Museum.

The fort at Calugareni has been recognised since the 18th century, when it was first described by Count Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli (1658-1730), who produced a topographical map of the site.

In antiquity, the Calugareni fort, which hosted auxiliary troops of cohort type, was located in the province of Dacia Superior, on the eastern limes road between the forts of Brancovenesti (to the north) and Sarateni (to the south-east), with a series of watchtowers arranged between them. AGERPRES (RO – writing by Dorina Matis; EN – writing by: Adina Panaitescu)