Trajanic Triumphal Monument

Object Title

Spatial Coverage

Site: Tropaeum Traiani/ Adamclisi [Adamklissi]

Modern Country: RO

Roman Province: Moesia inferior; Scythia (from reign of Diocletian)

Identifier

GPS/Spatial ID#: 44.102377, 27.955334

Pleiades ID# and Canonical URI

Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire (DARE) linked data

Source

Current location relative to findspot: Core preserved in situ; reconstruction built around preserved core (pictured); original sculptures removed to Muzeul Adamclisi

Findspot Description: Core preserved in situ; reconstruction built around preserved core (pictured); original sculptures removed to Muzeul Adamclisi

Findspot Attestation: RAN ID: 60892.02 http://ran.cimec.ro/sel.asp?lang=EN&descript=adamclisi-adamclisi-constanta-monumentul-triumfal-tropaeum-traiani-cod-sit-ran-60892.02

Medium

architectural remains; inscription; figural sculpture; architectural sculpture

Material

limestone

Description

Object Description: Erected by Emperor Trajan in 109 AD in order to commemorate the victory against the Dacians and their Marcommani allies at the same location in 102 CE. The monument is situated on a plateau, 1.5 km north of the actual village, on the highest point in the area, making the monument visible from considerable distance. The original height was 37.26 m, with a foundation diameter of 42.58 m. The monument’s circular base was decorated with a frieze of 54 metopes representing relief images of the battles between Romans and Dacians. An inscription stating that the monument was dedicated by Trajan to the Roman god Mars Ultor graced two faces of the monument’s upper hexagonal portion: MARTI ULTOR[I] IM[P(erator)CAES]AR DIVI NERVA[E] F(ILIUS) N[E]RVA TRA]IANUS [AUG(USTUS) GERM(ANICUS)] DAC]I[CU]S PONT(IFEX) MAX(IMUS) TRIB(UNICIA) POTEST(ATE) XIII IMP(ERATOR) VI CO(N)S(UL) V P(ater) P(atriae) ?VICTO EXERC]ITU D[ACORUM] ?---- ET SARMATA]RUM --------------------------------]E ""To Mars, the avenger Caesar the emperor, son of divine Nerva, Nerva Trajan, Augustus, who defeated the Germans, the Dacians, great priest, for the 13th time tribune of the plebeians, proclaimed emperor for the 6th time, elected consul for the 5th time, father of our homeland, after defeating the Dacian and the Sarmatian armies."" Crowning the structure was a trophy itself, flanked by three colossal statues representing a Dacian prisoner and two women. The monument was reconstructed for the first time in 1977 and subsequently in 2010 and 2013. Erected by Emperor Trajan in 109 AD in order to commemorate the victory against the Dacians and their Marcommani allies at the same location in 102 CE. The monument is situated on a plateau, 1.5 km north of the actual village, on the highest point in the area, making the monument visible from considerable distance. The original height was 37.26 m, with a foundation diameter of 42.58 m. The monument’s circular base was decorated with a frieze of 54 metopes representing relief images of the battles between Romans and Dacians. An inscription stating that the monument was dedicated by Trajan to the Roman god Mars Ultor graced two faces of the monument’s upper hexagonal portion: MARTI ULTOR[I] IM[P(erator)CAES]AR DIVI NERVA[E] F(ILIUS) N[E]RVA TRA]IANUS [AUG(USTUS) GERM(ANICUS)] DAC]I[CU]S PONT(IFEX) MAX(IMUS) TRIB(UNICIA) POTEST(ATE) XIII IMP(ERATOR) VI CO(N)S(UL) V P(ater) P(atriae) ?VICTO EXERC]ITU D[ACORUM] ?---- ET SARMATA]RUM --------------------------------]E ""To Mars, the avenger Caesar the emperor, son of divine Nerva, Nerva Trajan, Augustus, who defeated the Germans, the Dacians, great priest, for the 13th time tribune of the plebeians, proclaimed emperor for the 6th time, elected consul for the 5th time, father of our homeland, after defeating the Dacian and the Sarmatian armies. Crowning the structure was a trophy itself, flanked by three colossal statues representing a Dacian prisoner and two women. The monument was reconstructed for the first time in 1977 and subsequently in 2010 and 2013.

Iconography: Dacian captives/prisoners; trophy; battles between Romans and Dacians

Select Bibliography: Tocilescu, The Monument of Adamklissi Tropaeum Traiani (Vienna 1895); Florescu, The Victory Monument of Adamklissi Tropaeum Traiani (Bucharest - Bonn 1965); CIL 03, 12467; CIL 03, 13733; AE 1896, 00020; AE 1965, 00276; AE 1972, 00521a; AE 1996, 01355a + b; EDH042859 and EDH 018451; F. and O. Harl, Ubi Erat Lupa, http://lupa.at/15397; RAN ID: 60892.02 http://ran.cimec.ro/sel.asp?lang=EN&descript=adamclisi-adamclisi-constanta-monumentul-triumfal-tropaeum-traiani-cod-sit-ran-60892.02

Getty Art & Architecture Thesaurus: historic monuments: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300007031

Related URLs: http://lupa.at/15397; RAN ID: 60892.02 http://ran.cimec.ro/sel.asp?lang=EN&descript=adamclisi-adamclisi-constanta-monumentul-triumfal-tropaeum-traiani-cod-sit-ran-60892.02

Photo Attribution: Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:TropeumTraiani_11.jpg