Roman Castrum in Răcarii de Jos

If you had passed almost two thousand years ago through these places bathed by the waters of the Jiu, you would have been surprised by the presence of Moorish horsemen. They were stationed in the Răcarii de Jos camp, with the mission of ensuring security, guarding and order in the area, but also to react in the event of an attack from the east on the province of Dacia.

Since the time of Emperor Traian's wars with the Dacians (years 101-102 and 105-106), a temporary castrum was built at Răcarii de Jos.

Later, in the time of Emperor Hadrian (117-138) or Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161), a wood and earth enclosure was built here.

After the destruction of the large earthen castrum, at the end of the 2nd or the beginning of the 3rd century, it was rebuilt, this time in stone. In the middle of the 3rd century, the entire castrum went through a reconstruction operation, during which many old epigraphic and sculptural monuments were reused as construction material.

The Roman castrum at Răcarii de Jos functioned during the entire period of Roman rule in Dacia (years 106-270/275) and is the most important castrum in the Jiu Valley.

The castrum had a rectangular shape (170 x 141 m), with four gates, four corner towers and two intermediate towers, one on each long side.

The most interesting building in the castrum is the command building (principia). The dimensions of 37 x 34 m and the large number of rooms undoubtedly indicate that it was a very imposing building.

The banner room on the back side was provided with three buttresses on the outside, practically proving that we are dealing with a storied building.

The inner courtyard had a stone base for a statue in one corner, and sacred wells in the other three. On either side of the inner courtyard there were several rooms.

The existence of Mauri Equites (Moor equestrians) warriors from North Africa in the Răcari camp is attested by a fragment of a military diploma, discovered at the end of the 19th century and published as early as 1913, by Vasile Pârvan. The diploma attests to the fact that these Moors were granted Roman citizenship at the time of Emperor Antoninus Pius.

One of the scenes on Trajan's Column in Rome depicts an attack on the Dacians by the Moors led by Lusius Quietus. The Moors are represented on horseback, without shoes, wearing a short tunic, with braided hair, equipped with a small round shield held in the left hand and a spear carried in the right. Their horses have no bridle or saddle, all these details meant to suggest light and swift cavalry.

The archaeological discoveries in the Răcari castrum are impressive. Worth mentioning here: the military diploma attesting the troop's provenance, several hundred fragments of bronze statues, a shield umbo, dozens of stamped tiles and bricks, dozens of iron spearheads and pieces of military equipment, gold coins, silver and bronze, glass objects, bronze objects, bone objects and, last but not least, a huge quantity of ceramic vessels.

Many of the tiles and bricks discovered bear stamps or cursive inscriptions with the abbreviated name (N M) of the military unit Numerus Maurorum, denoting that the former corps of Mauri Equites was converted into a Numerus-type unit.