Halmyris
| Halmyris | |
|---|---|
 |
|
 Location within Romania
|
|
| Alternative name(s) | Salmorus, Thalamonium |
| Founded during the reign of | Trajan |
| Founded | 2nd century AD |
| Abandoned | 7th century AD |
| Previous fortification | Getic |
| Province | Moesia |
| Administrative unit | Scythia Minor |
| Administrative unit | Moesia Inferior |
| — Stone structure — | |
| — Wood and earth structure — | |
| Built during the reign of | Trajan |
| — Legions — | |
| — Classis — | |
| Flavia Moesica | |
| Coordinates | 45°01′30″N 29°11′52″E / 45.0249°N 29.1977°ECoordinates: 45°01′30″N 29°11′52″E / 45.0249°N 29.1977°E |
| Altitude | c. 26 m |
| Town | Murighiol |
| County | Tulcea |
| Country |
 Romania
|
| Condition | Ruined |
| Excavation dates | Currently under excavation |
| Archaeologists |
|
| Exhibitions | Muzeul de Istorie şi Arheologie - Tulcea |
| Website | http://www.halmyris.org/ |
Halmyris was a Roman and Byzantine fort, settlement and naval port, located 2.5 kilometers west of the village of Murighiol at the mouth of the Danube Delta in Romania. It is locally known as the site where the bodies of two Christian saints, Epictet and Astion, were uncovered between 2001 and 2004.
Despite the creation of several Greek colonies along the Romanian Black Sea coast during the 7th century BC, no corresponding Greek structural remains were found nearby Halmyris. The region was inhabited during the Second Iron Age by the Getae or Dacians as evident by the discovery of several cremation burials within a possible necropoli that dates to the 4th-2nd centuries BC. While the first Roman occupation of the site seems to have been in the form of a turf-and-timber fort constructed during the Flavian period, the first stone castrum at Halmyris was built during the reign of the emperor Trajan. Although the original layout of the Trajanic fort is largely covered up by later reconstructive phases, the plan seems to have been indicative of the 'typical' 2nd century layout of a Roman fort, composed of a rectangular defensive wall, rectangular towers and a gate in the middle of each of the walls. The placement of the fort was strategically deliberate as it lay not only along the course of the Danube River but also at the very mouth of the Black Sea. Early connections to the Roman fleet and its maritime activities at Halmyris is confirmed from epigraphic evidence mentioning the existence of a 'mariner's village' or vicus classicorum However, a significant alteration of the defenses took place during the Tetrarchy period. The new layout of the fort walls consisted of an irregular polygon bolstered by 15 towers and at least two well-defended gateways in the north and the west. Structures found within the fort include numerous barracks, a private thermae or bathhouse and a basilica. Additionally, the extramural settlement that had However, in the winter of 384/5, the Danube froze, allowing the foreign tribes to the north to cross and sack Halmyris. The final period of occupation seems to correspond with the reconstruction of the fort by the emperor Justinian which included the building of a monumental entrance way in the northeast wall of the fort. Additionally, Halmyris became the site of one of the major bishoprics in the province as well as being named as one of the fifteen important towns in the province of Scythia. a series of earthquakes in the 4th century and later that altered the course of the Danube led to the silting up of Halmyris' harbor and decreased its economic and strategic importance.
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Wikipedia