Samum (castrum)

Samum was a castrum (fort) in the Roman province of Dacia, situated at the very northern border of that territory. It lied on the right (northern) side of the river Someș, in historical land later known as Transylvania, inside of present Romania. Remnants of this relatively small fortified camp lies within the cadastre of village Cășeiu (near the town of Dej), 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) to the southwest from the edge of the village.

Samum
Location within Romania
Known also as	Castrum of Cășei Castrum of Cășeiu
Founded during the reign of	Trajan
Founded	101/102
Abandoned	270/275
Place in the Roman world
Province	Dacia
Administrative unit	Dacia Apulensis
Administrative unit	Dacia Superior
Limes	Porolissensis
Directly connected to	Arcobadara (Gherla)
Structure
— Stone structure —
Size and area	165 m × 165 m (2.7 [1] ha)
Stationed military units
— Cohorts —
I Britannica milliaria Equitata [1][2] II Britannica milliaria [1]
— Alae —
I Flavia [1]
Location
Coordinates	47.1862°N 23.8374°E / 47.1862; 23.8374
Altitude	230 m (755 ft)
Place name	Cetățele [3]
Town	Cășeiu
County	Cluj
Country	Romania
Reference
RO-LMI	CJ-I-s-B-06996.01 [3]
RO-RAN	56675.02 [3]
Site notes
Recognition	National Historical Monument
Condition	Ruined
Excavation dates	1926–1929 [3] 1989 [3] 1995–2000 [3] 2004 [3]
Archaeologists	Dan Isac [3] Emil Panaitescu [3] Sorin Cociș [3]

This castrum in a typical square shape was built as an auxiliary military camp at the beginning of the 2nd century, in times of the Emperor Trajan, while it was fully abandoned (together with whole province of Dacia) after 270 AD, when Emperor Aurelian decided to give-up too difficultly defensible province.

See also

• List of castra

External links

• Roman castra from Romania - Google Maps / Earth

Notes

1. Casei
2. Tactica, strategie si specific de lupta la cohortele equitate din Dacia Romana, Petru Ureche
3. "Situl arheologic de la Căşeiu (Samum) - "Cetăţele"". Repertoriul Arheologic Naţional (RAN). CIMEC. 2013-05-22. Retrieved 2013-06-01.