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Water in the Roman world

All life forms (humans, animals, plants) depend on water. Whether it is drunk or used for cooking and hygiene, whether it is used in agriculture, trade or transport, water represents an indispensable element. The first people searched for lands with food and water, the sedentary human communities were established in areas that could sustain agriculture and were rich in water sources. Since then and until now, human settlements have mainly depended on the existence of water. The chemical and biological properties of water were of particular interest to ancient philosophers. Thales from Miletus, Euripides and Pythagoras were well aware of the essential role water plays in the proliferation of life. For the Romans, their ancestors, contemporaries and descendants, water was an extremely important factor in public and private life. Another concern was supplying human settlements with water, which meant a civilizing aspect. In some cases, the water could be brought from great distances with aqueducts -veritable works of architecture- and the entire activity was coordinated by people high up on the social ladder. Inside a Roman settlement, an impressive amount of water would supply institutions, private houses, baths, latrines and public fountains. The public baths were frequented not only for personal hygiene but they were also meeting and entertainment places especially for the wealthy. Inside the baths there were also libraries, sports fields and games. Luxury abounded both in the sumptuous buildings and the good taste in ornaments and decorations. The Roman Empire had a cult of water and protective gods. At its centre was Neptune, but the nymphs or muses were also worshipped. Rome had a tradition which said that each water source had its own spirit Fons, son of Patulucius/ Clusius and of Iuturna/Diuturna, the embodiments of waters that do not dry up. The Fontanalia or Fontinalia water feast was celebrated annually on October 13, when sacrifices were made in honor of Fons, Larilor and for Larilor and Floras mother, and the fountains and wells were adorned with flowers.
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Map of Hunedoara County (http://hartahunedoara.ro/harta-ro-Hunedoara-429-Harta_Hunedoara.html)

Map of Roman Dacia (http://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fi%C8%99ier:Dacia_romana.svg)

Lead pipe (exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Sarmizegetusa)

Thermal water in the Roman world

Thermal water properties were known and they were used to treat numerous diseases. Even though the Romans had no knowledge about the chemical content, they were able to distinguish water depending on the amount of sulphur, potassium nitrate, salt, limestone, copper or iron it contained, which changed its taste, smell and colour. In most cases, healing water areas were located so as to be fully exploited, allowing their qualities to help as many sick people as possible. Genuine balneary resorts were built called Aquae. These specialized in different types of diseases, as Pliny the Elder recalls in Naturalis Historia. Such settlements were known throughout the Roman Empire. Places with hot water springs were called Thermae or Therma and were preferred to cold mineral water springs. The Romans believed in the sacred origin of the hot springs and thought they were under divine protection.

The healing water spirits were the Nymphae who, in the minds of the ancients, would take care of the ill and heal their pain if they bathed in the waters they ruled. This explains the large number of offerings made to honor these gods. Ancient historians writings indicate that thermal waters were found near the temples of Aesculapius or Asklepion, and helped the sick to recover. Moreover, the first gods of healing associated with the healing properties of these waters were Hercules, Apollo and Diana. Worship of these gods is attested by the not insignificant number of inscriptions, statues, reliefs made of different materials, pots and coins forged as gratitude for a return to health. Usually, the thermal baths served the sick who came here to be treated, but they were also fashionable places for the wealthy to relax. Here, they had access to theatrical representations, libraries, but especially to nature.
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Amphitheatre with pegma and spillway channel

The Dacica Sarmizegetusa Colony

Water use After the final conquest of Dacia (106), the new province was organized after the Roman model. In a short time the first city was founded the Ulpia Traiana Augusta Dacica Sarmizegetusa Colony which, as any city in the Empire, copied Rome on a smaller scale. Therefore, for any aspects related to water use, be it water supply, constructions for water adduction, anything using water or sewers, we must refer to the Empire models. Archaeological excavations have also provided information about water usage in Roman Sarmizegetusa; some traces of these can be visited nowadays, opening a door to understanding how the Romans lived.
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The Dacica Sarmizegetusa Colony was located in an area with rich water sources: three streams- the Apa Mic, the Valea Drajcovulu and the Apa Breazovei-, several springs located south of the city and also a quite high level of groundwater inside the city. Perhaps when the city was originally founded, the streams and rainwater probably played an important part; afterwards, the problem of the water supply was mainly solved in an anthropogenic manner. A series of wells (putei) serving the populations needs are archaeologically attested: two inside the sanctuary to the gods of medicine, others at the domus procuratoris, the glass works or the mill. Aqueducts were used to meet the need for water at the public or private baths or

the public fountains. An inscription on a marble slab discovered in Sntmria Orlea (Hunedoara County), today on display at Viennas Nationalbibliothek, describes how this water was supplied. Imp(eratore) caes(are) divi Traiani Parthici f(ilio) divi Nervae nep(ote) Traian(o) Hadrian(o) aug(usto) pont(ifice) maximo trib(unicia) potest(ate) XVI, co(n) s(ule) III p(atre) p(atriae) aqua inducta colon(iae) Dacic(ae) Sarmiz(egetusae) per Cn(aeum) Papirium Aelium legat(um) eius pr(o) pr(aetore) When Caesar August Traianus Hadrianus, son of the late Traianus Parthicus, grandson of the late Nerva, pontifex maximus, tribunician power for the 16th time, consul for the 3rd time, was Emperor, water (was) brought to (the) Dacica Sarmizegetusa Colony with the help of Cnaeus Papirius Aelianus, its propraetor governor (IDR III/2, 8). The text dates water adduction in Sarmizegetusa sometime between December 10, 131 and December 9, 132, during Emperor Hadrians rule, when Cnaeus Papirus Aelianus was governor. The slab could have been integrated into the walls or inside a castellum divisorium construction. This was a pool that collected water brought from the source and distributed it to various locations within the city. Where exactly it was constructed at Sarmizegetusa is unknown, but according to similar Empire constructions and also the indications given by the architect Vitruvius, it probably lay to the south outside the city walls, However, archaeological evidence attests to an earlier example of water

adduction, namely the discovery of a fistulae (a piece of pipe between two connections) chronologically framed during Trajans reign. We have no precise indications of the location where Sarmizegetusa water was collected and can only assume that it must have been somewhere in todays Hobia, south of the former capital. How water was carried between the drainage and the distribution basins is also unknown, although specialists assume that ceramic or wood pipes were used, since a masonry channel would have had to be supported on pillars which would have left traces over time. In financial terms and also according to how they were made, ceramic tubes were quite affordable. They were joined together and placed in a ditch which was then covered. In addition, Sarmizegetusas slope inclination of approximately 7% fits the standards for these aqueducts, without being affected by water pressure. Near the procurators palace, a pipe fragment composed of 22 ceramic tubes was discovered in situ. The tubes discovered at Sarmizegetusa are between 24 and 32 cm long, with a large diameter of 12-13 cm, a small diameter of 6 cm, and an approximately 7 cm socket. In order to avoid water loss, when using pipes with different diameters and not only, hydraulic mortar was used for the joints. As well as ceramic tubes, stone blocks were also used at Sarmizegetusa, which when put together, formed a water supplying system. Such artifacts were discovered during archaeological excavations, but not in a primary position. They had been reused again in antiquity, in museum storehouses, or in the Middle Ages for building the church in Densu near the former Roman capital, and earlier excavations do not give any information about location and discovery conditions.
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Placa votiv pe care apare numele unui pecumarius

Each parallelepiped andesite or limestone block has a channel in the middle, with a socket on one side, and on the other, an enlarged part allowing it to be connected to another blocks socket. To avoid water loss it was sealed with hydraulic cement. One of the stone blocks discovered at Sarmizegetusa seems to have been the very first stone of a water collecting or distribution installation, since its diameter is much larger than all the other blocks, and another has a hole that can be interpreted either as a ventilation hole or as a connection for a smaller pipe heading in another direction. Besides ceramic tubes and perforated stone blocks, lead pipes can also be found at Sarmizegetusa. Two fragments belonging to the same piece have been discovered inside the forum in a primary
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position. Stratigraphy has concluded that these pipes date from the reign of Emperor Trajan. One of the fragments has a joint. According to Vitruvius, a fistula should have a length between 2.25-2.50 m, but the one found at Sarmizegetusa is about 3 m. It is also possible, according to the ancient architect, to determine what 90 digiti corresponded to (digitus,-i = the smallest unit of length measurement in Greco-Roman antiquity equivalent to the width of a hand and 1/6 the length of a leg). Two names and also the number CXXVIII appear on the lead pipe fragments silloge aquaria (words engraved in relief when molten lead was poured into the mould): CXXVIII [C]ol(oniae) Dac(icae) Sar(mizegetusae)

Ant(onio) Val(---) et Ma(?rio) Cl(?audiano) And Ant(onio) Val(---) et Ma(?rio) Cl(?audiano) Based on similar cases in the Empire, these were most likely the Dacica Sarmizegetusa Colonys magistrates, probably the duumviri or edili. They were not benefactors (people making public donations) or chief workers because, in the first case, the benefactors names would have been on display, and in the second case, the masters name would have been accompanied by the predicate fecit/facit. The number CXXVIII was interpreted as either the number of steps from the castellum divisorium - a secondary water basin inside the city, or as a fistula number. In the centre of the amphitheatre arena is a pool that contained oak wood gutters that captured water and must have been part of a pegma a hydraulic installation that provided special effects during amphitheatre shows. On a votive plate dedicated to the goddess Nemesis appears the name of C. Val. Maximus, the pecumarius. Deae Nemesi Reg(inae) C(aius) Val(erius) Maximus pecumarius ex visu posuit (IDR III/2) The dedication gives rise to two types of interpretation: either a pecuarius, the animal provider for the amphitheatre games, or a pegmarius, one of the pegma devices. In both cases, the word was spelled incorrectly on the monument. Perforated stone blocks through which water circulated were also found in the pool area. The baths consumed a great deal of the water brought to town. The main thermal complex, which currently cannot be visited, located between the inner wall

and the amphitheatre, was excavated in 1883 by G. Tgls and P. Kirly, who also discovered a pipe without mentioning what it was made of. Another private bathing area was investigated near the domus procuratoris. In systematization plans and urban planning, public fountains had a very important role and were one of the three largest water consumers inside a Roman town. In the Dacica Sarmizegetusa Colony, there were two monumental fountains flanking the forum entrance. The central part of each of the fountains had three niches which protected the life-size statues on display. In the central niche of the eastern fountain was a marble statue of the god Neptune, modelled on Poseidon of Lysip from Corinth. The god had his foot on the head of a water-spewing dolphin and the head and the parts from the waist down of this statue are still preserved. In the lateral niches there were probably statues of nymphs. The lower half covered by a shell through which water flowed has been preserved. The pipe passed through the statues abdomen which was perforated from back to front. The western fountain had Apollos marble statue as a central figure, of which only a few fragments remain. Probably statues of nymphs were to be found in the lateral niches. Both marble statues were built following an act of evergetism by Lucius Ophonius Domitius Priscus, the colonys duumvir, as shown in the texts of the foundation plates. In honorem domus divinae L(ucius) Ophonius Pap(iria) Domitius Priscus IIvir col(oniae) Dacic(ae) pecunia sua fecit l(oco) d(ato) d(ecurionum) d(ecreto)
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Spillway channel of the amphitheatre

The bathrooms at domus procuratoris

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East Fountain - proposal for reconstitution (Sarmizegetusa Archaeological Museum)

In honore[m do]m[us divinae] et ob m[erita eius] L(ucius) Opho[ni]us [Pap(iria) D]o[mi]t[ius Priscus] IIvir c[ol(oniae)] Dac[icae pec(unia) sua fecit l(oco) d(ato) d(ecurionum) d(ecreto)] The two marble fountains must have been built towards the end of the II century in the early years of Septimius Severus reign, when the formula In Honorem Domus Divinae (In honor of the Imperial House) was generalized. Furthermore, the statues seem to have been built in the manner of the mentioned period. Dirty water was discharged outside the city through a sewer system that lay beneath the roads. Such channels

have been identified under decumanus maximus, in macellum. Pieces from Sarmizegetusa can also be found elsewhere, initially used in the building of medieval stone churches in ara Haegului (Densu, Peteana, Ostrov) and then reused as construction material. For example, stone blocks with slits placed as a cross drainage caps were used to build the churches in Densu or Peteana. Temple of Aesculapius and Hygeia The Sanctuary of Aesculapius and Hygeia, the medicine gods ( Aesculapius is a deity borrowed from the Greeks. Asklepios is the son of Apollo and a

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Stone stage of the Forum with two fountains proposal for reconstitution - (acc. to Ovidiu Tentea)

Votive plaque dedicated to Aesculap and Hygeia (exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Sarmizegetusa)

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Aesculap (exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Sarmizegetusa)

Hygiea (collection located at Devas Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization)

mortal, thus a demigod, who had the ability to heal during the night and even to give life to the dead. But he was struck by Zeus as punishment for claiming to be a god. The Romans borrowed him without the mythological story. Hygeia is considered Aesculapius daughter) was unveiled between 1973-1976 in the socalled sacred area, located east of the colony amphitheatre. The religious ensemble consists of four buildings surrounded by a precinct wall and had two construction phases. The end of the first stage can be linked

to the destruction caused during the Macromanic wars (the arguments used by researchers were the inscriptions discovered in the temple of Liber Pater and the coins of Marcus Aurelius found inside the sanctuarys first phase buildings, which date the destruction to between 167-168), while the second phase lasted until the end of the Roman occupation in Dacia. The stone precinct wall has a polygonal form with the entrance on the lateral side. This is marked by a pavement of river stones, with a width of 7.60m.
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Sundial (exhibited in the Archaeological Museum of Sarmizegetusa)

The first building is a Celtic-Roman type fanum (fanum = place or building taken out of the profane circuit and made property of the god to whom they are dedicated). The construction measured 8.20x8.20m in the first phase and 10.25x10m in the second phase, and has an internal 4m square cella with a brick altar in the middle. The second building, in a first phase, consisted of a pronave (7x6.5m), a cella (4.25x3m) and a cubicullum (6.26x4.25m). Subsequently, the east side of the building was demolished and a rectangular edifice was built incorporating three of the cubicullums walls (9.5x6.5m). Inside the ensemble there is a third rectangular building which also modified its dimensions from one phase to another (from 7.5x5.1m to 12.8x8.1m). The fourth building apparently did not have two phases, but was built at the same time as the second phase reconstructions of the other three buildings. The building, 5x5.9m, has an internal brick altar. East of the building and not connected to it, there were four bare stone and mortar pedestals linked by walls on the north, south and east. This could be the structure of a portico which formed a covered pronave, or a covered platform that sheltered an altar.
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The Asklepeion was also used as a hospital, as proved by the numerous medical instruments discovered inside the excavated area. Inside the ensemble dedicated to the gods of medicine, two wells were excavated: one is square, 0.75m, and 4.5m deep, located in the north-eastern corner of the second building, while the other is circular with a 1m diameter and a depth of 5.5m, excavated on the western side of the same construction. Wells are often seen in the cult edifices of the medicine gods. An inscription regarding the two wells was placed there, but only a fragment is preserved : Fo[ntibus] Aes[sculapi et?] H[ygiae] .

Densu Medieval Church - Roman monuments brought from Sarmizegetusa used to raise the church

Plan of the Germisara Thermal Compound (according to Adriana Pescaru)

The Fountains of Aesculapius and of Hygeia (IDR III/2, 183) Two decapitated statues, a relief and other fragments of marble monuments were found inside the square fountain, seen as desecration of the well and artifacts probably by Christians. Numerous ritual pits were brought to light within the enclosure. These were used to place offerings, especially ancient oil lamps that were no longer used in the temples. Later archaeological excavations revealed some votive monuments dedicated to the gods of medicine (fragmentary statues, small marble tiles, altars), along with a sundial or a wall light representing Medusa.

The sanctuary housed a sculpture workshop. Its shape defines a stone platform, located in the southern part, which has a cavity at its centre, where chips of marble and monuments undergoing work and finishing, as well as other discarded ones, were found. The Territory of Sarmizegetusa (A Roman city was the economic, administrative and spiritual centre of a territorium built in its surroundings. Generally, most local aristocracy lived in the city, while many other less important towns of different sizes and legal status could be found in the rest of the territory.) also included two spas, developed due to the presence of thermal water with curative properties - Germisara (todays Geoagiu) and Aquae (now Clan)and according to some sources, it seems
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Images of the thermal compound at Germisara

that the Romans also used the water from Feredeie - Boblna (Rapoltu Mare Commune). Geoagiu Bi The depression basin hosting the Geoagiu Bi Spa is located in the southern part of the Metaliferi Mountains whose final slopes merge with the plains and terraces of the Mure River. The healing properties of the thermal waters here were well known in antiquity, probably since Dacian times. This is suggested by the toponym Germisara which is Thracian-Getic, consisting of germ - which means warm, hot, and sara - water, and also the discovery of money - coins from Thasos, Apollonia, Dyrrachium and Republican Dinars.

In Roman times, Germisara included the Roman camp with the military vicus, civil settlement and thermal baths. The Roman fortified camp (briefly called Camp) (Castrum lat.) was identified at the Cigmu border village in a place called the Citadel of Urieilor and housed the Numerus Singulariorum Britannicorum military unit. The civil settlement was located in the Castrum neighborhood, identified in the Lunca (meadow-land) between Cigmu and Geoagiu. The Roman necropolis lies under the current city of Geoagiu. Roman thermal baths were about 5 km from the Camp in todays Geoagiu Bi, at the point known as Romans Knoll. Systematic archaeological research began here in 1986 and continued in subsequent years, leading to the discovery of the size, design and use of these baths. The travertine nipple and calcar tuff, which allowed the thermal baths to be identified, have a circular shape with a diameter of 90-95 m. The compound functioned in two phases: one exclusively on the surface and a second one, both underground and on the surface. I. A natural hollow lay at the centre of the nipple, a result of the activity of underground thermal waters. This hollow was filled with thermal water and had an opening at the top of 18 x 12 m, and a depth of about 7 m, with a funnel shape. Perhaps, at a first instance, people coming here might have bathed in this pool. Time saw the construction of a network of channels for directing the water from the source to the tanks dug into the ground and lined with boards found at the nipple base.( Today nothing remains, due to the degradation of the material used and resort landscaping work). Channels were made by directly carving into the stone and in areas where such an operation could not be performed, the route was completed with tegulae and

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Small gold plates dedicated to nymphs (belonging to the collection at Devas Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization )

mortar or wooden chutes. Water in free fall ran through these channels. Two rectangular buildings were identified in the north-eastern part of this hollow. The first building (CR1) measured 4.50 x 7 m, with 60 cm thick river stone walls. In the upper left part of the faade, a column base placed on a pedestal of stone was identified. Researcher Adriana Pescaru (who led the research here) believes that this building was used as a fanum. This building must have undergone a period of degradation due to the cracking and movement of the limestone rock on which it was located, and traces of restoration can be observed. North-east of this building and parallel to it, we find the second one (CR2). It measures 5.60 x 7 m and was partially destroyed by a medieval building. Within and near this construction, ceramic fragments of Roman pottery, fragments of glass pharmaceutical containers and a bronze spatula have been identified.

On quite a large area in front of the two buildings, there were numerous votive altars dedicated to Diana and nymphs by officers of troops in the Camps of Cigmu and Apulum. Adriana Pescaru assumed that this was a sacred area. Moreover, over 600 bronze and silver coins, a statue of the goddess Diana made of Bucova marble, votive altars (arranged around the cavity during Roman times), seven small golden plates dedicated to healing deities and protectors of thermal waters (Diana, Hygeia and Nymphaea) were discovered in the basin described above A basin located about 3 m west of the natural cavity dates from the first phase of operation of the thermal baths. This basin, oriented north - south, was formed by a rectangular room and one apse its size cannot be determined because it was partially destroyed (either by the Romans during redevelopment, or in the Middle Ages).
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The 60 cm thick walls were made of river stone, and traces of waterproof plaster are preserved in the apse part of the building. In the same area there is part of an undisturbed floor made from the same waterproof material. It seems that the two rooms communicated with each other by means of an access ladder. In its depth, the entire nipple consists of caves of different sizes containing water and gas. During a period when the thermal compound was fully operational, tectonic movements or high internal gas pressure caused deep cracking of the nipple and the natural cavity walls, leading to underground water infiltration and a lowering of the water level in the natural basin. The basins remained without water and the Romans sought new ways to use thermal water in the time to come. II. After several fluctuations of water level in the cavity, it stabilized itself at 2 m below the initial level. In order to use the baths under these conditions, a purpose-built gallery was dug. Quite near the wall cavity, a vaulted room (BZ1) was made with sides of 2 x 2 m and a height of 2.20 m, with benches carved in stone (40 cm wide and 45 cm high) on the east and west sides. In the southern part, a hole was made to allow water to enter the room, followed by a network of pools. In the north, the room had an entry with a dam so as to regulate the water level. In the feudal period, an irregular dent in the floor of this room was made, which was then covered with plank floors on three beams. To the north was another vaulted room (BZ2), which, in its turn, had a dam. In a second phase of pool construction the walls of the room were extended east and westward, resulting in an extension of the pool. Because of the opening amplitude of this phase (4 to 4.5 m) the vault20

ed ceiling was abandoned and a roof of beams and tegulae was constructed. Along the whole eastern (3.5 m) and western (3 m) sides are benches carved in rock (30 cm wide and 40 cm high). Water marks on the walls allow the assumption that the water level was adjusted so that a person of average height sitting here, would always have water up to his/her neck. Basin BZE2 with dimensions of 3.5 x 2 m was made in the same way as the other pools by carving the stone, with a threestepped ladder access and benches on all sides. From the shape or size, it seems to have been designed for children. Following BZ2 is a gallery with an average width of 1.60 m, an approximate height of 2.50 m and a length of 15 m. At the northern end of this gallery is the access ladder to the arrangements described above. Its seven steps were made by carving into the rock and were provided with a handrail of wooden beams. On the walls of the gallery can be seen a number of places for the rush lights necessary for lighting. Because of the brittle travertine and weathering, the gallery ceiling collapsed. The third dam is at the northern end of the gallery where the nipples relatively steep side becomes a plateau. This separates the underground phase II arrangement from the surface development phase which includes BZ1 and BZ2 basins. The BZE1 basin was achieved by carving into the rock, with initial dimensions of 5.5 m wide and 4 m long. Adriana Pescaru assumes that the number of people who came here for treatment possibly increased over time, necessitating a doubling of capacity, brought about by extending the eastern and western sides. In the northern part, the sloping landforms did not allow the desired water level to be maintained; they were completed by a cant made of river stones and waterproof glue.

Diana (collection belonging to Devas Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization )

In the middle of the channel lies a deeper zone, which is an extension of the gallery link between BZ2 and BZE1. This could also have served as a channel for wastewater disposal from the mentioned improvements, or perhaps as a sewer used for cleaning the tank. During the 1991 excavation campaign, the eighth small gold votive plaque dedicated to nymphs was discoved in this channel. Wastewater discharge was made through a hole in the northern wall of the basin, which then poured out freely. Access to the pool was by means of a wood-

en staircase, located in the southeastern corner of the described basin. At one point, Germisara was the site of an outburst of underground thermal water and mud rich in lime and iron oxide. As it has not yet been established when this phenomenon occurred, it is not clear if this led to the Romans abandoning the baths, or whether it happened after their withdrawal. Clan Aquae 1 km north of the present city of Clan in the meadow of Strei lay the Roman set21

tlement of Aquae. Ptolemy mentions the name of Hydata, and the toponym Ad Aquas appears in the Tabula Peutingeriana . The settlement reached the rank of Pagus (a Roman intermediate administrative form between village and town - vicus and municipium), as shown in an inscription on a votive altar, found now in New Clan church. It was made in honor of Jupiter Optimus Maximus by Caius Julius Marcianus who was both praefectus pagi Aquaensis and decurio coloniae, of the capital of the Dacica Sarmizegetusa Colony, in whose territory Aqua was located. I(ovi) O(ptimo) M(aximo) pro sal(ute) d(omini) n(ostri) C(aius) Iul(ius) Marcianus dec(urio) col(oniae) praef(ectus) Pag(i) Aquensis Genio eor(um) posuit To Jupiter the kind and great, for the health of our chief (master, king), Caius Julius Marcianus, decurion of the colony (and) praefectus of Aquae pagus, their Genius provided (offer) (IDR III/3, 10). Of course, the settlement was not simply a thermal resort, its existence also depended on agriculture (the meadow of Strei is a good place for cultivation) or on stone exploitation and processing. Moreover, a column fragment from Aquae on which the Greco-Oriental origin name of a master mason appears: Diogenes (l)apidarius Diogenes lapidarul (the mason) (IDR III/3, 6). Aquae was one of the few spas in Dacia, along with Germisara (Geoagiu Spa, Hunedoara county), Ad Mediam (Her22

culane, Cara-Severin) and Scelu (Gorj county). A collection basin carved into the rock measuring 37x7x14 m was found in all ancient thermal installations. Only a third is still preserved here, enough to allow the discovering authors to establish its initial ovoid form, the way the land had been improved or what the water depth had been at that time. The basin had a drain with a width of 1 m, fitted with gates to regulate the water; the carved areas where they were placed can still be seen. The basin and channel assembly is known as the Roman spoon. A limestone votive altar in honor of Hercules was also discovered at Aquae, made by Marcus Ulpius Proclianus, veteran. It is possible he might have come here for therapy and made offerings upon his recovery: Herculi M(arcus) Iul(ius) Proclianus vet(eranus) v(otum) l(ibens) s(olvit) to Hercules, Marcus Julius Proclianus veteran, the promise made (to God) with joy it fulfilled(IDR III/3, 8). The dedication to Hercules Salutifer, the patron of hot mineral springs (the patron of spas such as Herculaneum in Italy or Ad Media, todays Herculane Spas in Dacia) is not at random. Although not specified in the text inscription, Salutifer quality is evidently what is referred to. After the withdrawal of Aurelian, the population of the area continued to use the constructions made by the Romans. Where the Roman Dacia capital once stood, we now find a place of a rural village character, where for centuries the locals appreciated the Roman ruins for providing them with a source of raw construction material.

Geoagiu and Clan remained popular thermal baths, their properties being valued and exploited in all ages. At Geoagiu, where archaeological research has been extensive, many early medieval buildings were also brought to light. There are also written sources attesting the use of thermal waters at Geoagiu - for example, Conrad Iacob Hiltebrandt (1629 - 1679), in the Travel Journal, for the period 1656 1658, noted: at Geoagiu, the water came from a hill on a plain and was moderately warm. There was a broken home, in which were different chambers, but nothing inside them, and on the walls were scribbled many names. Where the water fell quickly, a narrow rock was arranged on the cliff where two people could sit back to back, and below was a large space in the form of a rectangle, in which they could swim, with water almost up to their necks. Our Commissioner used to salt and often wallow in it. Mr. Sternbach did not feel so good the first time (we went there twice), suffering from a great shock when he went into the lukewarm water, because there was no warm room nor any host ... Romanians often bathe here; then a Romanian dabbled in her black skirt. At the end of the nineteenth century, Geoagiu, Clan and Boblna were popular locations for anybody with health problems. Thus, a study published in 1886 by Dr. Vilmos Hanko, a teacher from Deva, found 29 mineral springs within Hunedoara County. The author divides them into four categories depending on their chemical composition. He discusses those with thermal waters such as those in Geoagiu, Boblna, Rapolel and Clan, and provides information about their condition at the time. Boblna lies on the right bank of the Mure. Five thermal springs spring from

the middle plateau. Among these sources, two flow into some basins separated by old walls found in good condition today. These walls and other evidence indicate, the author believes, that the Romans also used the thermal springs at Boblna, like those at Geoagiu and Clan. The owner of these sources - in 1884 - was the landlord Velicska Lajos. According to Vilmos Hank, two of them have been used as bathrooms since time immemorial, a royal bath for the owner and his guests, and a popular bath for the local people. At Geoagiu Bi four thermal springs burst from the northern - western hill. Basin and buildings are harbingers of a better era, long past. The Roman pool no longer contains water as its level is at a higher altitude than current sources. Fittings in the baths of the late nineteenth century were primitive. Buildings and bathrooms were so little cared for that the author of the study was surprised at the large number of guests in 1883. According to official data, in 1883 the baths registered a number of 952 people, of whom 880 locals and 72 foreigners. The owner of the baths was Fried Eskeles. The same author knows it was a pleasant place to rest for Prince Gabriel Bethlen (early seventeenth century) and Prince Apafi (late eighteenth century). At Clan, thermal waters burst from the left bank of the Strei River, an isolated rocky hill. Here, a deep basin was naturally formed. In the nineteenth century, a few feet from that basin, there were three roofed and fenced pools; they were used by people in the area. The ancient basin was used for soaking hemp. And what Clan baths had to offer was not satisfactory in terms of how it was arranged. In 1883, the baths registered 144 people. The owner of the baths was the colliery director, Jzsef Bauholzer.
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Rusu-Pescaru Adriana, Alicu Dorin, Templele romane din Dacia, I, Acta Musei Devensis, Deva, 2000. Rusu-Pescaru Adriana, Alicu Dorin, Roman Temples in Dacia, I, Acta Musei Devensis, Deva, 2000. Tudor Dumitru, Orae, trguri i sate in Dacia roman, Bucureti, 1968. Tudor Dumitru, Cities, Towns and Villages in Roman Dacia, Bucharest, 1968. entea Ovidiu (ed.), Colonia Dacica Sarmizegetusa un ghid , Bucureti, 2007. entea Ovidiu (ed.), Dacica Sarmizegetusa Colony a guide , Bucarest, 2007.

Abbreviations: AMN - Acta Musei Napocensis, Cluj-Napoca / Napoca Museum Journal, Cluj-Napoca CCA - Cronica Cercetrilor Arheologice / Archaeological Researches Chronicle EphNap - Ephemeris Napocensis, Cluj-Napoca / Napoca Diary, Cluj-Napoca HTRTE - Hunyadvrmegye Trtnelmi s Rgszeti Trsulat vknyve, Deva / History and Archaeology Society Yearbook of Hunedoara County, Deva IDR - Inscripiile Daciei Romane, Bucureti / Inscriptions of Roman Dacia, Bucharest RMI - Revista Monumentelor Istorice, Bucureti / Journal of Historical Monuments, Bucharest Sargetia Acta Musei Devensis, Deva / Sargetia Journal of Deva Museum, Deva

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