Today we are telling you interesting things about Sarmizegetusa Regia - the capital of the Dacian Kingdom, the central character of our project, as you may have guessed from its title: "Capital of Dacia - the living museum of European cultural heritage".

Find out with us that the ruins of the ancient city still impress visitors who arrive at the confluence of the White Valley and the Godean Valley. A road of several kilometers awaits them, along which hundreds of terraces built by the Dacians, 2000 years ago, are lined up. Numerous wooden and stone constructions were or were to be erected on them. It seems hard to imagine, but some of them also had a floor, standing out for their imposing plan and dimensions.

The entire city was studded with a water catchment and distribution network made up of fired clay pipes. In addition, the quantity and quality of objects discovered by archaeologists in the relevant buildings or in various points of the Muncel Hill show us that the standard of living in the capital of the Dacian Kingdom was high for those times.

Of course, the core of Sarmizegetusa Regia is the fortification and sanctuary area. This site, nowadays a clearing hidden among centuries-old trees, was chosen for the construction of several large terraces supported by strong limestone block walls. Here, the Dacians erected various monumental temples, with concentric rooms or with several rows of stone and wooden columns.

The round altar in andesite, the canal winding on the 11th terrace and the ceremonial road paved with limestone tiles complete the picture of an exceptional political and religious center, hidden among the mountain peaks, but connected to the realities and tastes of its times.

The images were taken from the volume coordinated by Călin Neamțu, Gelu Florea, Gabriela Gheorghiu, Bodó Cristina, When Ancient Daily Life Becomes UNESCO Heritage - Dacian Incursions in Virtual Space, Cluj-Napoca, 2016.

The Capital of Dacia - A LIVING MUSEUM OF THE EUROPEAN CULTURAL HERITAGE is financed with the support of EEA Grants 2014-2021 within the RO-CULTURE Programme.

EEA and Norway Grants
RO-Culture Programme
EEA & Norwegian Grants
Ministry of Culture
Project Management Unit - UMP
National Heritage Institute -
Hunedoara County Council
Mihai Eminescu Trust
Møre og Romsdal fylkeskommune