
The LIMES National Program, established in 2014 by order of the Minister of Culture, is part of an international effort to register archaeological sites along the route of the old border of the Roman Empire (known as "limes") in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
9 countries are involved in the fulfillment of this wish, Romania playing an essential role as the longest sector of the Romanian limes is located on the territory of the country (over 1000 km). The three institutions directly involved in the field research and documentation necessary for the entire project are the National Museum of Transylvanian History (MNIT) in Cluj-Napoca, the National Museum of Romanian History (MNIR) in Bucharest and the National Museum of the Eastern Carpathians (MNCR) in St. George.
The activity carried out in 2017 consisted in the continuation of the identification of relevant older documents and the continuation of field research. Documents such as the excavation reports of the archaeologist Dumitru Protase found in the MNIT archive, were scanned to be added to the file for the inclusion of sites belonging to the Romanian border located on the current territory of Romania.
The archaeometric field research (non-invasive methods such as archaeological topography, geophysics, LIDAR and aerial photography) carried out during the past year contributed decisively to the delineation with greater precision of the western Roman border south of Bologa and up to the area of Văia Ierii and Văia Ariesăului. In the area of 400 km2 researched for the first time, 28 monuments of Roman origin were found, most of them in the territory of Cluj county, and some in the territory of Sălaj county. Likewise, similar researches took place in the South-East of Transylvania, in the area of the Râșnov-Cumidava, Hoghiz and Brețcu castles, but also in the area of the Roman borders of the South-East of Dacia and Dobrogea.
The program's activity has been appreciated by international partners since the beginning, thanks to the progress made by all parties involved in the research and documentation work, given the complexity of the researched sector of the Romanian border.
"We have identified more than 300 sites along the entire length of this border in Romania, candidates to enter the World Heritage List. Among these sites are legionary barracks, auxiliary barracks, towers and other military installations related to this border." – Dr. George Cupcea, Deputy Director of MNIT.
The activity of the three responsible institutions has been carried out without interruption during the last years, even if the budget allocations have been delayed, and most of the time they have been insufficient.

Website: www.limesromania.ro