The Archaeological Ensemble of Micia

On the left bank of the Mureş River, facing the Dobra Gorge, one of the largest auxiliary forts in Dacia developed in antiquity, as well as the ancient settlement of Micia. The Roman fort here was one of the important defense and control points in the province, its role being to prevent potential enemies from the west.

Beyond its major military role, Micia was also one of the main customs points of the Roman Empire. It was a space where luxury goods entered and exited the province, a market where merchants gathered, as well as a bustling area with taverns, inns, and people on the move. It is presumed that there was even a port on the Mureș River, which provided connections to the interior and exterior of the province of Dacia. One of the soldiers' tasks here was to supervise both the land and water communication routes, on the Mureș, towards and from Pannonia.

The economic importance of the settlement is evidenced by a series of inscriptions that attest to its status as a market (pagus), the existence of professional colleges, as well as intense building activity. 

Currently, at Micia, archaeological ruins are visible: the complex of Roman baths, the amphitheater arena, a public building, as well as the uncovered traces of the fort.

The Roman fort operated from the beginning of the 2nd century AD, initially being built from earth. Suffering major destruction in the Marcomannic Wars during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the fort was rebuilt in stone. A significant moment in the evolution of the settlement at Micia occurred during the Severan dynasty, when a true urban regeneration program took place, with major constructions being rebuilt and rehabilitated. The decline of the settlement began in the second half of the 3rd century. However, life continued even after the Roman administration withdrew, as evidenced by archaeological discoveries from the 4th to 7th centuries AD.

Inscriptions found at Micia provide valuable information about the people who lived here during the Roman period. Among them, two exceptional female characters stand out. The first is Domitia, one of the few female founders in Dacia, who erected, with her own funds, a temple dedicated to the goddess Isis at Micia. The other is the protagonist of a beautiful, tragic, and sensitive love story. This is Aelia Hygia, an 18-year-old former freedwoman who became the wife of a very important figure in Dacia. She is mourned by her husband in a verse epitaph found on her tombstone, embedded today inside the Reformed Church in Mintia.

Micia was a place where intense economic life unfolded, a center of production and distribution, a major producer of construction materials, as well as a port on the Mureș River, serving as a gateway for "luxury" into the province of Dacia. Among the workshops that operated here, we mention the metallurgical, ceramic, bone processing, semi-precious stone engraving workshops, and last but not least, the stonemason workshops. 

Some of the artifacts from Micia are now found in the collections of the National Museum of Romanian History, the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization in Deva, the National Museum of Transylvanian History, as well as in the heritage of other museums in the country and abroad.