Argidava

---

title: "Argidava" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["dacian-towns", "ruins-in-romania", "historic-monuments-in-caraș-severin-county", "history-of-banat"] description: "Dacian fortress town, located in Caraș-Severin county, Romania" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argidava" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Dacian fortress town, located in Caraș-Severin county, Romania ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox ancient site"]

Field	Value
name	Argidava
alternate_name	Argidaua, Arcidava, Arcidaua, Argedava, Argedauon, Argedabon, Sargedava, Sargedauon, Zargedava, Zargedauon
image	Roman_province_of_Dacia_(106_-_271_AD).svg
caption	Arcidava on the Roman Dacia map.
map_type	Romania
coordinates
location	Poiana Flămânda, Vărădia, Caraș-Severin County, Romania
epochs
cultures	Albocense
condition	Ruined
designation2	Monument istoric
designation2_number	CS-I-s-B-10894
embedded	{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
child	yes
Part_of	Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Dacia
ID	1718-002
Year	2024
Criteria	Cultural: ii, iii, iv
::

| name = Argidava | native_name = | native_name_lang = | alternate_name = Argidaua, Arcidava, Arcidaua, Argedava, Argedauon, Argedabon, Sargedava, Sargedauon, Zargedava, Zargedauon | image = Roman_province_of_Dacia_(106_-_271_AD).svg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Arcidava on the Roman Dacia map. | map_type = Romania | map_alt = | map_caption = | map_size = | altitude_m = | altitude_ref = | relief = | coordinates = | map_dot_label = | location = Poiana Flămânda, Vărădia, Caraș-Severin County, Romania | area = | built = | abandoned = | epochs = | cultures = Albocense | event = | discovered = | excavations = | archaeologists = | condition = Ruined | designation1 = | designation1_number = | designation2 = Monument istoric | designation2_number = CS-I-s-B-10894 | embedded = {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site |child = yes |Part_of = Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Dacia |ID = 1718-002 |Year = 2024 |Criteria = Cultural: ii, iii, iv | website = | architectural_styles = | architectural_details = | notes =

Argidava (Argidaua, Arcidava, Arcidaua, Argedava, Argedauon, Argedabon, Sargedava, Sargedauon, Zargedava, Zargedauon, ) was a Dacian fortress town close to the Danube, inhabited and governed by the Albocense. Located in today's Vărădia, Caraș-Severin County, Romania.

After the Roman conquest of Dacia, it became a military and a civilian center, with a castrum (Roman fort) (see Castra Arcidava) built in the area. The fort was used to monitor the shores of the Danube.

Ancient sources

The oldest found potential reference to Argidava is in the form Argedauon or Argedabon (), written in stone, in the Decree of Dionysopolis (48 BC). However, it is unclear as to whether this refers to Argidava or a distinct town Argedava.

Decree of Dionysopolis

Ptolemy's Geographia

Argidava is mentioned in Ptolemy's Geographia (c. 150 AD) in the form Argidaua () as an important Dacian town, at latitude 46° 30' N and longitude 45° 15' E (note that he used a different meridian and some of his calculations were off).

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Part_of_Tabula_Peutingeriana_showing_Western_Moesia_Inferior,_Western_Dacia_and_Macedonia.png" caption="''Arcidaua'' on Tabula Peutingeriana (top upper left corner)"] ::

Tabula Peutingeriana

Argidava is also depicted in the Tabula Peutingeriana (2nd century AD) in the form Arcidaua, on a Roman road network, between Apo Fl. and Centum Putea. The location corresponds to the one mentioned by Ptolemy and the different form is most likely caused by the G/C graphical confusion commonly found in Latin documents.

Notes

References

• {{cite book |last = Crișan |first = Ion Horatiu |author-link = Ion Horațiu Crișan |title = Burebista and His Time |year = 1978 |publisher = Bibliotheca Historica Romaniae |location = Bucharest
• {{cite book |last = Daicoviciu |first = Hadrian |author-link = Hadrian Daicoviciu |title = Dacii |year = 1972 |publisher = Editura Enciclopedica Româna |location = Bucharest
• {{cite journal |last = Mihailov |first = Georgi |author-link = Georgi Mihailov |title = Inscriptiones graecae in Bulgaria repertae |volume = 1 |edition = 2nd |year = 1970 |publisher = In aedibus typographicis Academiae Litterarum Bulgaricae |language = la, el |location = Sofia
• {{cite book |last = Oltean |first = Ioana Adina |author-link = Ioana Adina Oltean |title = Dacia: landscape, colonisation and romanisation |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wgvH2j7dWuEC |year = 2007 |publisher = Routledge |isbn = 978-0-415-41252-0
• {{cite web |last = Olteanu |first = Sorin |title = Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum - Toponyms Section |url = http://soltdm.com/geo/arts/categs/categs.htm |language = ro, en |work = Linguae Thraco-Daco-Moesorum |access-date = 8 December 2010 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110716103139/http://soltdm.com/geo/arts/categs/categs.htm |archive-date = 16 July 2011

References

1. "National Archaeological Record (RAN)". ran.cimec.ro.
2. 978-0-7618-4465-5.

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