Apulum and Buridava

[lothia]

Ave Civitas,

 

I am new here. I am in the process of writing a historical fiction that takes place during AD 335.

 

As part of my story the protagonist travels through Apulum and Buridava (One in Transylvania, the other in Wallachia).

 

I realize that Dacia had been abandoned as a province for a hundred years by then, but I would guess that there was still a lot of Roman activity in those two cities.

 

I would also assume that the cities did not turn to dust with Aurelian's abandonment of that land What remained?

 

I assume that the cities were not shunned (as radioactive) so people still lived in them, though the Danubian Goths may not have used them as much as the Romans did (no apartment dwellers) but surely the forum and the basilicas were still in use.

 

Can anyone help here?

 

Mea gratis

[Faustus]

Ave Civitas,

 

I am new here. I am in the process of writing a historical fiction that takes place during AD 335.

 

As part of my story the protagonist travels through Apulum and Buridava (One in Transylvania, the other in Wallachia).

 

I realize that Dacia had been abandoned as a province for a hundred years by then, but I would guess that there was still a lot of Roman activity in those two cities.

 

I would also assume that the cities did not turn to dust with Aurelian's abandonment of that land What remained?

 

I assume that the cities were not shunned (as radioactive) so people still lived in them, though the Danubian Goths may not have used them as much as the Romans did (no apartment dwellers) but surely the forum and the basilicas were still in use.

 

Can anyone help here?

 

Mea gratis

 

Salve Lothia

 

May I suggest a historical novel by an author who seemed to have a good grasp of the situation in Dacia and describes the abandoned state of that wilderness? From it you might be able to extrapolate to Apulum and Buridava.

 

I think a good place to start your journey and to spark your interest would be Ralph Dulin

[Titus Maccius Plautus]

Salve, lothia! Here's the link to the official Alba Iulia town hall. Alba Iulia is now what the ancient romans used to call Apulum :Apulum

 

Now, about Buridava, there were found the first ever cremation tombs in Dacia. Its location is near The Great Salt Mines in V

[lothia]

Ave Civitas,

 

I am new here. I am in the process of writing a historical fiction that takes place during AD 335.

 

As part of my story the protagonist travels through Apulum and Buridava (One in Transylvania, the other in Wallachia).

 

I realize that Dacia had been abandoned as a province for a hundred years by then, but I would guess that there was still a lot of Roman activity in those two cities.

 

I would also assume that the cities did not turn to dust with Aurelian's abandonment of that land What remained?

 

I assume that the cities were not shunned (as radioactive) so people still lived in them, though the Danubian Goths may not have used them as much as the Romans did (no apartment dwellers) but surely the forum and the basilicas were still in use.

 

Can anyone help here?

 

Mea gratis

 

Salve Lothia

 

May I suggest a historical novel by an author who seemed to have a good grasp of the situation in Dacia and describes the abandoned state of that wilderness? From it you might be able to extrapolate to Apulum and Buridava.

 

I think a good place to start your journey and to spark your interest would be Ralph Dulin

[lothia]

Ave Civitas,

 

I am new here. I am in the process of writing a historical fiction that takes place during AD 335.

 

As part of my story the protagonist travels through Apulum and Buridava (One in Transylvania, the other in Wallachia).

 

I realize that Dacia had been abandoned as a province for a hundred years by then, but I would guess that there was still a lot of Roman activity in those two cities.

 

I would also assume that the cities did not turn to dust with Aurelian's abandonment of that land What remained?

 

I assume that the cities were not shunned (as radioactive) so people still lived in them, though the Danubian Goths may not have used them as much as the Romans did (no apartment dwellers) but surely the forum and the basilicas were still in use.

 

Can anyone help here?

 

Mea gratis

[lothia]

Ave Civitas,

 

It is evident by how I screwed this posting up that I have no idea what I am doing.

 

Faustus,

 

I have read THE UNCONQUERED SUN, it is a great book. If I am not mistaken though most of his wife's time in the wilds were still south of the Danube, but north of the Illyrian Alps.

 

I do remember Aurelian's journey into Dacia, his meeting with the town elders and his conclusion that Dacia was no longer defensible.

 

I enjoy books like that. I enjoy books where it is evident that the author did his research and I cringe when I am reading a book that I thought the author did his homework then find that he didn't.

 

I have been struggling with this book for three years now. I refuse to "Make things up" If I write that the land there has red dirt, you can believe that either I have seen the dirt or have seen a picture of the dirt.

 

I am, however, almost done and am finishing up some details. I traveled up along the Alt from where Buridava was and then north to Sibiu, but haven't seen Apulum nor any sign of Buridava. So, in the book where I describe the pass they march through, I have seen it.

 

Thanks for your recommendation. You are right. It is a very well researched book.

 

Salveo, Lothia.

[lothia]

Salve Titus,

 

I visited the linked site you gave. Thank you very much.

 

That was very good information you provided about Buridava. Were those tombs pre-Roman cremations?

 

I wish, when I was in Romania, I would have had a better idea of where my characters would go. I could have taken the train to many of those places.

 

In your reply you said that the original Dacian inhabitants had vanished by the early 2nd century. Are you certain about that date? Trajan did not cross at Drobeta until that time. What would have made the original Dacian population vanish so quickly?

 

I sure hope you are mistaken because I have the Appuli inhabitants around Apulum still speaking their native language. If you are correct I will have to do some rewriting.

 

Thanks again for the link and the information.

 

Haveo, Lothia

[Titus Maccius Plautus]

Were those tombs pre-Roman cremations?

 

Yes. Two such tombs were found there. One of them dates back to a more ancient period of inhabitation. The remains from the cremation were buried in a grave, not in an urn like the Roman practice. These remains were scattered among pieces of broken pots, apparently this was a Dacian ritual.

 

 

In your reply you said that the original Dacian inhabitants had vanished by the early 2nd century. Are you certain about that date? Trajan did not cross at Drobeta until that time. What would have made the original Dacian population vanish so quickly?

 

This is funny, because I did notice that too. I wasn't sure wheter to write that piece of information or not, as it was in contradiction with another subsequent statement of mine. I got this from a feature report I saw some time ago, and it is funnier that I found almost the exact same thing on a pretty reliable Romanian site. That is why I thought I should display the info. Now you should see in the latter part of my reply that after the Romans came in and started to exploit the salt mines, the inhabitants ( I don't know if the entire population was involved ) moved southwards.