The Dacian fortress Sarmizegetusa Regia in Central Romania will be scanned from the plane, to identify the main archaeological remains underground.

This will help develop a concrete research and conservation program of the UNESCO site in the Orastie Mountains, Sorin Vasilescu, vice-president of Hunedoara County Council, told local Agerpres.

“We want to do a scan at the archaeological site, so that we know which are the underground objectives, in order to do an archaeological research in the next few years. It is a specific scan performed for archaeological sites, which can penetrate below the ground so that we can see the existing archaeological remains,” Vasilescu said.

By mid-July, the authorities want the scan done, so they can submit at the end of February 2018the first application for funding to preserve and protect the historical monument.

Hunedoara County Council has been managing the Sarmizegetusa Regia Dacian fortress since 2013. It received it from the Ministry of Culture via a Government Emergency Ordinance.

More than 10,000 people visited the Dacian fortress in the first four months of this year, nearly 2.5 times more than in the same period last year. Hunedoara County authorities estimate that at least 100,000 people would visit the fortress this year.

Romania’s Ulpia Traiana Sarmizegetusa included in the Roman Emperors Route project

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com

(photo source: Cetateasarmizegetusa.ro)