Considerations on “Troianul” in Ţara Zarandului
Considerations on “Troianul” in Ţara Zarandului

Summary/Abstract: The present analysis is dedicated to the linear fortification in Ţara Zarandului known as “Troianul”, “Calealui Traian” (Trajan’s Way), “Drumul luiTraian” (Trajan’s Road), or “Iarcul” (The Ditch). S. Dumitrașcu, the archaeologist from Oradea who first mapped the landscape feature, expressed several hypotheses on this monument that is little known and little discussed in specialized works. Thus, according to the first hypothesis, the rampart was built during the reign of Burebista; according to the second, it was built by the Dacians against the Iazyges; the final hypothesis states that the rampart was a defensive element included in the border of the Roman province of Dacia. Field researches performed by the author along the preserved segments of the “Troian” allows for the formulation of certain useful observations. The construction of the rampart was aimed at protecting the mountain and hilly areas against enemies coming from the Pannonian Plain. The added enclosure of the Beliu Valley indicates that the constructors mainly intended to control and defend access towards the area of the Codru‑Moma Mountains. Judging according to these facts, it seems less probable that the monument was originally designed as a defensive element of the Province of Dacia. Its attribution to the early Middle Ages is also possible, but less probable. With due precaution, at the present stage of research, I choose to date the erection of the rampart during the first century A.D. at the initiative of the Dacian kings in the context of the pressure placed by the SarmatianIazyges who had recently settled in the Pannonian Plain. The distribution of hoards and monetary discoveries from the time of the Dacian Kingdom, indicating a larger number of such finds east of the rampart, can be considered another argument that supports my dating.

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