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Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Ripa Pannonica in Hungary (RPH) Nomination statement
ruins have been exposed particular care must be taken, and until a permanent solution is found seasonal
protection from frost must be provided. In the case of final rehabilitation, conservation or exhibition,
solutions to the problems of water infiltration and frost for the remains must be found through water
management, insulation/damp-proofing and the employment of proper techniques for interventions. The
regulations for interventions are controlled by strict official supervision, and special post-graduate training
exists for the acquisition of these design techniques.
Air pollution that damages construction materials characteristically exerts its impact through moisture.
Protection of the elements of the ruins against moisture also neutralizes most airborne threats.
The aforementioned, legally binding National Regional Development Plan includes prohibitive provisions:
Chapter VI, section 22/A (2) New surface mining sites cannot be established within the zone, and the area
of existing surface mining sites cannot be expanded.
(iii) Natural Disasters (earthquakes, floods, fires)
Hungary is not a seismically threatened area. A yearly average of 100-150 minor quakes occur, which do
not exceed a strength of 3.5 measured on the Richter scale. Quakes that cause damage occur approximately
every forty years, and serious earthquakes every 400 years.
The Danube River has threatened the structures of the Ripa Pannonica since their construction, or
for nearly two thousand years. The section of the Danube that runs north-south has been gradually
shifting to the west, away from the direction of the Earth’s rotation. This process is slow, but water has
washed the eastern side of many forts and watch towers into the Danube. There are also spectacular
periods for slow processes. The Danube has a high right bank after it flows through Budapest. This
riverbank is made of loess, and according to evidence from old maps and records from time to time
significant pieces break off into the Danube. In 1860 one million cubic meters slid off at Dunaszekcső,
two million cubic meters came off at Dunaújváros in 1965 and another one million cubic meters at
Dunaföldvár in 1970. The latest was a spectacular landslide that occurred on the 12 th of February 2008
and unfortunately affected the already damaged Dunaszekcső fort. The river bank broke off on a 300
meter long and 30-35 meter wide section, and subsided about 10 meters, taking along with it the most
recent portion of the Lugio fort as well as significant archaeological evidence from the ground’s cultural
layers. The continuing danger of landslides rules out any opportunity for excavation. The government
is planning measures to stabilize the riverbank, but no interventions have occurred yet.
The other characteristic of the Danube that causes problems is the danger of floods. The flood prevention
measures developed since the second half of the 19 th century safeguard the individual structures of the
Ripa on the protected side. The flooding of these can occur in extraordinary cases, approximately every
fifty years if the water overflows the levees despite their reinforced protection. This would be an act of God
that cannot be avoided. The remains that are still within the flood plains, primarily fortified river ports,
crossings and signal towers are exposed to flood waters once or twice a year. The rehabilitation of these
must be resolved in a stable manner through hydraulic construction means, but even then they cannot be
protected from floods caused by ice dams. It is only possible to think about rehabilitation in the case of
outstandingly significant remains, in other cases only the condition that has evolved through the action
of the water can be maintained.
Wildfires and forest fires do not represent a significant danger in Hungary.
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