Arrubium Roman Fort, Măcin

The ruins of the Roman fort of Arrubium lie at the place called "La Cetate", on a high terrace on the right bank of the Măcin branch of the Danube, on the south-western edge of the town of Măcin, in north-western Tulcea County. It is a Roman and Romano-Byzantine fortification. Arrubium is recorded around AD 100 in military diplomas that mention a cavalry unit of Dardanians. The main garrison of the auxiliary fort was the ala Vespasiana Dardanorum; the ala II Hispanorum et Aravacorum is also attested. The fort appears on the Tabula Peutingeriana, in the Antonine Itinerary, in the Notitia Dignitatum and in the Cosmography of the anonymous geographer of Ravenna. A late Roman fortification was built over the auxiliary fort, and sources from the Dominate period refer to Arrubium as a civitas. The List of Historic Monuments dates the fort to the 1st to 7th centuries. The site was heavily damaged by stone quarrying between the two world wars. Only the northern side, about 115 m long, survives along its full length, with the eastern side partly preserved for about 110 m. The ruins can be seen on the terrace at the edge of the town; the auxiliary fort beneath the late Roman walls has been very little excavated. In Măcin you can also see the Mestan Aga Mosque (1860) and the former 19th century inn, and the town is a starting point for the Măcin Mountains National Park. The archaeological site "Arrubium Fortress" is a historic monument of national importance, LMI code TL-I-s-A-05837 (the fort: TL-I-m-A-05837.02; RAN code 159749.01), comprising the fort, the civil settlement, the Roman necropolis, a medieval settlement and a Muslim cemetery. Did you know that, according to the Roman document Notitia Dignitatum, in late Roman times Arrubium was garrisoned by a unit of cataphracts (cuneus equitum catafractariorum), heavily armoured cavalry whose horses were also protected by armour?