Măgura Uroiului (Uroi Hill)

Măgura Uroiului rises near the village of Uroi, within the town of Simeria and the commune of Rapoltu Mare, at the confluence of the Strei and the Mureș, on the right bank of the Mureș. The hill stands more than 200 m above the river and is visible from tens of kilometres away. It is the remnant of a Neogene volcano: erosion removed the cone and exposed the neck of quartz-bearing andesite with columns of explosive breccia, visible on the slope facing the Mureș. In Roman times the hill was one of the main stone sources of the province of Dacia, and its andesite was used for buildings, sculptures and inscriptions; the nearby Roman settlement of Micia was an important stoneworking centre. Quarrying continued in the Middle Ages and the modern era. Archaeological research begun in 2001 by the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilisation in Deva, led by Angelica Baloș, identified Bronze Age, Hallstatt and Dacian settlements, earthwork fortifications and a Roman villa; a type of Dacian scale armour not previously known was found here. The faces and terraces of the old quarries are visible on the southern slope. A dirt road that circles the hill leads up from the Simeria-Geoagiu road. From the top there are views over the Mureș valley with Deva, the Poiana Ruscă and Metaliferi mountains, Orăștie and the Șureanu Mountains, and on clear days the Cerna and Strei valleys, Hunedoara and the ridges of the Retezat. Rare plants grow on the hill, and local press reports the presence of the nose-horned viper. Măgura Uroiului is a geological nature reserve, code RONPA0536, covering 10 ha, IUCN category IV. The "Măgura Uroiului" archaeological site is a historic monument, LMI code HD-I-s-A-03204.