Istoria Banatului Antichitatea

403

A distinctive place in the south west of Dacia is represented by strengthening

of the defensive line Lederata–Tibiscum with a separation line (formed by ditch

and rampant) built immediately to the west of it, submitting north to Mureş river.

Later, at a distance of 18–25 km to the west, it seems that in the time of Antoninus

Pius a second separation line was built formed by wave reinforced with ditches and

rampant. How they were built and the exact chronology is not yet established

unanimously in Romanian or foreign sources. Their construction was determined

by the need to protect the province from the lowlands of Banat, uninhabited at the

beginning of the Roman rulership, in order to protect the entire area up to Tisza.

This fortification segment stands as representative for this part of Roman Dacia. Of

the utmost importance were the military constructions (auxiliary forts), and civilian

ones-raised along the main access routes. In the public building category, we

integrate the temples built in south west Dacia, showing the presence of an

important number of deities, official of the Roman state, Greek or Roman, like

Apollo

Nemesis

, Oriental ones (

IOM. Dolichenus, IOM. Hierapolitanus, Sol

Invictus

etc.). To these we add deities of Patriae belonging to irregular auxilliary

troups, as specifics. The cults edifices are most of the times linked tot the military

media from Tibiscum, Micia, Praetorium, and with the civil ones like: Ad Mediam,

perhaps Marga etc.

Some aspects in consideration of the spiritual life of south west Roman

Dacia

(

and 3

century

). One of the most interesting components of the

spiritual life in Dacia is represented by the religion of the population that lived

here. We reffer, in this case, both on the civilians and on those stationed in Dacia

either in the army or occasionally present, through provincial administration. On

top of religious manifestations there were the dedications made to

Capitolin Triad

(Juppiter, Junona, Minerva) found as official religion of the state, on top of Greek

Roman deities. We encounter in Dacia the existence of individual religions having

a series of particularities determined by ethnicity, even the acceptance of some

interesting cults at a certain moment.

Religious ancient landscape

in south west Dacia appears modest in comparison

with the rest of the province being determined by the small number of researches

directed to the forts and settlement from this area. It evidentiates the importance of

this inhabited place either military or civilian in the spread and acceptance of

religious cults tolerated by Roman religion. This sintetic presentation of the deities

offers the context, the entire problems that cover the subject being subject of other

papers.

A particularity of house and fire religious manifestations, we see in the

practice of laying Roman lamps in the structure of public or private buildings

walls, a cult manifestation attributed to

Lares

, house protecting deities

in fact

protecting the household, the food prepared on fire. From this quality rises their

closeness to the cult of Vesta. The use of simple clay lamps, show no usage marks

to insert in the walls or deposited at the base served the same purpose: to ensure the

protection of Lares on those places. The apotropaic character of the place where

these deposits of clay lamps (forts, private houses, public buildings and of course

temples) explains the different places where they appear.