Press release:
Cluj-Napoca, August 7, 2024: On July 27, the 46th meeting of the World Heritage Committee took place in New Delhi, India, where the favorable decision was adopted to register the "Borders of the Roman Empire - Dacia" file on UNESCO World Heritage List: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1718. "This decision recognizes the exceptional universal value and historical-cultural importance of the limes of the Romanian province of Dacia for all of humanity." says Dr. Felix Marcu, Manager of the National History Museum of Transylvania (MNIT).
The term "limes" refers to a fortified frontier, often composed of numerous and diverse elements, such as watchtowers, larger military camps, castro-type, or smaller, burgus-type, as well as linear earthen fortifications. The FRE-Dacia serial monument includes 277 such components, many being treated as a group, so the actual number of listed sites is much higher.
The largest segment of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire, with a length of approximately 1500 km, FRE-Dacia thus joins other segments of limes already included in the UNESCO heritage, such as those in Great Britain (1987, 2008), Germany (2005, 2021), Holland (2021), Austria (2021) and Slovakia (2021), contributing to the representation of the exchange of human and cultural values at the height of the Roman Empire, being a physical representation of the imperial policy of expansion, as well as the adaptability of the Romans to the local topography .
The FRE-Dacia file is the result of over a century of work, including archaeological research, material processing and information systematization. In the last 10 years, with the support of the Ministry of Culture, through the "Limes" National Program, the activities necessary to complete the file have been carried out. The nomination file was submitted in Paris in 2023, through the sustained efforts of MNIT and the National Heritage Institute, which together coordinated a multidisciplinary team made up of other specialists from: the National Museum of Romanian History, the National Museum of the Eastern Carpathians, The National Union Museum in Alba Iulia, the National Museum of Banat in Timișoara, the County Museum of Ethnography and the Border Regiment in Caransebeș, the County Museum of History and Art in Zalău, the Bistrița-Năsăud Museum Complex, the Mureș County Museum, the Vâlcea County Museum, Olt County Museum, Oltenia Museum, Argeș County Museum, Babeș-Bolyai University, University of Bucharest and the Romanian Academy, through its branches in Cluj-Napoca and Bucharest. The collaboration with the county directorates for culture and the county and local authorities from 16 counties was also essential.
At the moment, MNIT is working on a Research Strategy and, in collaboration with the representatives of the National Heritage Institute, on a Management Plan and an Interpretation Framework for the nominated sites, with the aim of protecting and enhancing them for the public large.
For more details:
Adrian B. Gog, PR Representative
adrian.gog@prandmore.ro, 0757355675
