RăCARI
Dolj, Romania.
A Roman civil settlement and military center in the heart of the province,
part of the chain of camps along the Jiu river. Its ancient
name is unknown although Admutrium, Malva, Saldae,
etc. have been proposed. Only the camp has been excavated. The civil settlement is now covered by the buildings of the railroad station of the modern town. Its remains are strewn over 9 ha (masonry, pottery, coins,
etc.). The Roman camp (141.5 x 173.2 m) was built at
the time of the Antonini and underwent numerous repairs especially during the 3d c. Rectangular in form,
it had four gates, and towers stood at the corners and
between the curtains. It contained a large praetorium and
a horreum. It was built of brick by the soldiers of Legio
V Macedonica and of the numerus Maurorum
Σ . . .
The archaeological excavations uncovered fragments of
three bronze statues representing emperors of the 3d c.
(Heliogabalus), many iron weapons, farm implements,
many bronze or silver ornaments (sconces, buckles,
needles, etc.), and a fragment of a military certificate
of Antoninus Pius, all in the defensive trench of the
camp. There is evidence of the worship of Diana, Hercules, Iupiter Dolichenus, Mercury, Mithras. There is
evidence of fire toward the middle of the 3d c. Considerable repairs were made after this attack. Bronze coins,
buckles, pottery, and a lamp with a cross prove that
after the abandonment of Dacia (271), the camp was
occupied by natives, who fortified it with trenches and
continued to live there until the invasions of the Avars
and Slavs. These settlers were converted to Christianity
and had economic ties with the Eastern Empire.
Material from excavations are in the museums at Craiova and Bucharest.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CIL XVI, 114;
AnÉigr (1957) 188;
V. Pârvan, “Ştiri nouă din Dacia Malvensis,”
ACRMI 35 (1913) 54; G. Florescu,
Castrul roman de la Răcari-Dolj (1930); N. Gostar, “Numele antic al castrului de
la Ritcari,”
SCIV 5 (1954) 607-10; D. Tudor, “Săpăturile lui Gr. Tocilescu la Răcari,”
Apulum 5 (1965) 233-57;
id.,
Oltenia romană (3d ed., 1968) passim; id.,
Oraşe
(1968) 309-13;
TIR, L.34 (1968) 94.
D. TUDOR
