geographia - Studia

I. IRIMUŞ, FL. FODOREAN, D. PETREA, I. RUS, P. COCEAN, O. POP
The following types of Roman roads were identified in Dacia Porolissensis: 4 principal
imperial roads, with a total length of 117 km, 15 secondary roads – viae vicinales -, with a total
length of 658 km; the roads network of the Roman province totalized 775 km, its continuity
being provided by 10 Roman bridges. We took as case studies in our research two segments of
the imperial Roman road Potaissa – Napoca – Porolissum: a) Cluj-Napoca (Napoca) –
Gheorgheni – Aiton – Ceanu Mic – Tureni – Copăceni - Turda (Potaissa); b) Cluj-Napoca
(Napoca) – Sutor (Optatiana) – Largiana (Românaşi) – Porolissum (Moigrad).
The Roman road Napoca – Gheorgheni – Aiton – Ceanu Mic – Tureni – Copăceni
– Turda (Potaissa) follows the morphostructural contact of the Feleac massif with the
friable Neogene deposits of the Transylvanian tectonic basin (clays, carbonated clays,
marls, volcanic tuffs, hard or softer Eocene limestones - Leitha limestones-, sands, salt,
gypsum, micro-conglomerates). The route of the analyzed imperial Roman road follows
stable slope sectors and avoids swampy and flooding areas (Figure 2). The relative and
absolute height and inclination do not prevent roads to keep linearity, while other aspects as
slope instability due to landslides, rhythmical flooding of some river flats or land suitability
to viticulture and tree cultivation influenced roads implementation decisions (Figure 3).
By correlating the information from antic and modern sources, we gathered sufficient
morphometrical knowledge on the Napoca – Potaissa sector: length, inclination, relative height,
deviation or correction angles. By using the available historical and geographical (especially
geomorphologic) data, we can conclude that the following morphometric features described the
analyzed Roman road: a) the relief energy or the relative height between sectors is of 70 – 100
m; b) road average inclination did not exceed 5-10 m / 1000 m, that is 5 – 10%; c) the accepted
geomorphologic processes when establishing the road routes were the linear ones (rain-wash,
gullies, torrents), while the areas affected by mass-movement processes (land collapses, land
falls, land slides, solifluctions etc.) were avoided.
The alignments of the Roman roads that correspond to the above-mentioned
characteristics are described by large curves, with angle values multiple of 30° (60, 90, 120, 150,
180), a link of short sections (30 m, 50 m, 125 m or 300 m), the longest one identified being of
500 m – in flat and large interfluves (plateaus or plains) with steppe vegetation. The road
segments were projected as to afford good visibility and safety for travelers or military troops.
The course of the road in the sector between Napoca (Cluj) and Aiton (figure 4)
followed the street texture of the town: UniversităŃii Street (starting from the antic centre,
the Unirii Square) – Kogălniceanu Street (between the “Babeş-Bolyai” University, the State
Archives and the Romanian Academy Library) – the court yard of the Şincai National
College – Avram Iancu Street – Cipariu Square (the archeological digs ran after 1990
revealed the Roman road at a depth of 4 m, under a deluvial deposit; its width was of 5.6 m)
– Brâncuşi Street (Gheorgheni), leaving the town through the Borhanci colony; further on it
follows the interfluve between the Faget Valley and the Hotarului Valley (Cluj Forest), then
crosses the Gheorgheni village and finally reaches the settlement of Aiton.
While among the urban segments (from Cluj-Napoca) a single one is described by
a large radius curve, the one between the Cipariu Square and the Avram Iancu Street
(through the courtyard of the Sincai National College) and the average inclination did not
exceed 5%, outside the built-up areas the large curve (160 – 175°) sections are much more
frequent, while the road average inclination lies between 4.5% - 7.5%. Outside the
settlement boundaries, the roads were avoiding the coastal springs, but they were identified
and mapped because of their importance in supplying with drinking water, but also because
of the induced risks to road construction - vulnerability towards mass movement processes.
44