Archaeological Research Goals by Pojejena and the Fortification of the Danube Limes in this Roman Imperial Defense Sector
The aim of the project conducted in cooperation between the University of Warsaw, National Museum of Banat in Timişoara and Museum Of The Highland Banat in Reșița is to nondestructive research of a Roman auxiliary fort in the village of Pojejena and to recognize a range, localization and a character of the civil settlement next to the fort. Our works combine both classical survey, with aim to recognize concentrations of an archaeological material in close and far vicinity of the fort, and geophysical research (topography, electro resistivity and magnetometry) of some places. After almost 4 years of research we have a good imagine of the internal planning of the fort but also about the neighborhood and we published all the technical information to help the local authorities in their job to protect the archaeological site. The most interesting area in the direct vicinity of the fort is the area to the south of it where we found the remains of the main part of the vicus. The area was partially surveyed with electro resistivity in 2017 and, on the larger area, with magnetometry in 2018. The results of electro resistivity are much clearer than the ones from the south part of the fort which were also conducted in the same year. Clearly visible is the road coming from south gate in direction of the Danube. The road is flanked from both sides by structures which may be interpreted as the houses of the Streifenhäuser type. The magnetometry allows to state that the settlement continues to the east from the area surveyed with electro resistivity, which was also observed during the fieldwalking survey. All these major measurements offer us the possibility to appreciate correctly the size of the site and also the first excavations give us the chronological borders for the living layers in Roman and Late Roman Times. Consulting also the historical data we can now say without making big errors that Pojejena is one of the key-sites for understanding the evolution of the Roman Danube Limes and also the survival of the Roman-Byzantine Defense in the area until to the 6th century AD. For the villagers from Pojejena would be necessary in the close future the existence of a local museum point, who can preserve the historical memory of the place and can provide future projects for developing cultural tourism in the area.
