Dobrudja is one of the most picturesque areas of Romania, enjoying a large variety of landforms: delta and sea, plateaus, mountains worn down over time, alternating with hilly areas and planes. The Black Sea coastline, spanning 245 kilometers, is strewn with modern beaches, but also wild beaches, ancient and more recent rural and urban settlements. On the shore of Lake Sinoe, 60 kilometers away from Constanta, in the town of Histria, there are the ruins of a fortress erected in the mid-seventh century BC.
It is the Histria Fortress, the first Greek colony on the Black Sea coast.
The “Histria Fortress” archaeological site is on Romania’s Historical Monuments List as well as on the European Heritage List and is included in the Danube Delta Nature Reserve. Founded in 657 BC by Greek colonists from Miletus, the fortress, structured in two parts (the acropolis and the urban settlement), enjoyed a continuous development for 1300 years.
Around 260 BC., Histria allied with the Callatis Fortress in order to overcome the city of Byzantion, which held control the Tomis Harbor.
Unfortunately, the Histria Fortress was destroyed in the 7th century AD by the Avaro-Slavic migrant hordes, and the city was abandoned. Another reason for the abandonment was the process of clogging of the old gulf where the harbor was laid out, which has nowadays become the „Razim-Sinoe” lagoonal complex.
The following can be observed in the fortress: the defensive wall (with cannons and bastions), the forum, some paved streets, several Roman dwellings and workshops, thermae, civil and Christian basilicas of the 6th century. A street network with sewer pipes belonging to the Roman period can also be distinguished. The Sacred Area of the fortress, with the two temples, one dedicated to Aphrodite and another one dedicated to Zeus, is the oldest discovery.
The tourists reaching this place may enjoy both visiting the vestiges belonging to ancient historical times and the rich offer of the ornithological diversity of the area.
Sources:
http://www.histria-cheiledobrogei.ro/turism-3/cetatea-histria-8
Elena Radu
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