Castra Micia

About

Micia was initially a large Roman fort for auxiliary troops outside which a large town developed. The archaeological site is located in the commune of Vețel, Hunedoara County in Transylvania, Romania. It was important as it monitored and secured the road to the centre of Transylvania and the river route along the frontier to Partiscum, today Szeged, Hungary as well as supervising the adjacent mining area. In addition, there was a strategically important river port. In the civil settlement were large baths and a small amphitheatre. The large number of ancient inscriptions are significant. Every year a Roman reenactment festival, Micia Rediviva, is held on the archaeological site.

It had a quadrilateral shape of 360 x 180 m placed unusually with the long sides to the east/west unlike traditionally with the narrow side facing the enemy. It lies across the modern road and railway.

The Marisus river north of the vicus (2014)

100 m to the southeast of the military bath is a small amphitheatre with a circumference of 104 m. The arena was of diameter 31 × 29 m.