Dacian Fortresses of the Orăștie Mountains

The town of Sarmizegetusa Regia was the capital and major fortress of the Dacian kingdom, probably built in the mid first century BCE. It consisted of perimeter walls and fortifications, a sacred precinct, and a settlement area primarily for nobles and supporting servants. It was located at the top of a hill with excellent visibility of the surrounding lands. The sacred precinct was on the east side of the town, with a prominent plaza and circular shrines. There were two settlement areas one on the east side and a larger one on the west. In addition to dwellings they included workshops, storage buildings, and agricultural processing areas. Notable for the time is a distribution system for drinking water that used ceramic pipes. ==Costești-Cetățuie==

Piatra Roșie, which means Red Rock, was a Dacian hill fort two days march to the west from Costești-Cetățuie, at Luncani in Boșorod commune. It was built in two phases. In the first phase a long (102 m) rectangular main citadel was built at the height of land with watch towers on each end and two outlying watch towers. Later the larger area inside the watch towers was enclosed with walls. It appears that the hilltop was flattened in the process in order to produce a usable space. ==Gallery==

Image:Cetatea Costesti.JPG|Dacian fortress of Costești Image:Cetatea Blidaru2.JPG|Fortress of Blidaru Image:Cetatea Blidaru.JPG|Fortress of Blidaru Image:Sarmizegetusa Regia.JPG|Sanctuaries at Sarmizegetusa Regia Image:Sanctuarele de andezit.JPG|Andesite sanctuaries, Sarmizegetusa Regia File:Sarmizegetusa_Regia_-_Sanctuarul_mare_circular._(Zona_sacra).jpg| Sarmizegetusa Regia the great circular sanctuary (sacred area) Image:Sanctuarul mare de calcar.JPG|Large limestone sanctuary, Sarmizegetusa Regia Image:Sanctuarul mic de calcar.JPG|Small limestone sanctuary, Sarmizegetusa Regia Image:Solar disc.JPG|Solar disc, Sarmizegetusa Regia Image:Murus Dacicus.JPG|Murus dacicus, Sarmizegetusa Regia Image:Paved Dacian road.JPG|Paved Dacian road, Sarmizegetusa Regia File:Griphon UMBO Shield IMG 7433.JPG|Dacian artifact from Piatra Roșie site. It is still a subject of debate if it is an umbo shield or a gate decoration. ==See also==