Iža

KELEMANTIA - Roman military camp in Iža. This camp was part of the Roman Empire's border fortifications (the so-called Limes Romanus). The fortress was located outside the Roman Empire's own territory and was situated on the opposite side of the Danube as the Roman legionary camp of Brigetio. The whole area is about 3 hectares and has been protected since 1957, it has been a National Cultural Monument since 1990 and was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2021.
During the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180), during the Marcomannic Wars, a Roman timber camp was built in the cadastre of the present-day village of Iža (according to aerial photographs, there were supposed to be a total of 5 such field camps to the west of the present excavations). These temporary camps were protected by a spiked ditch and an earthen rampart. Later, the temporary field camp became a permanent camp, which was associated with the completion of the fortifications (double-pointed ditch, earthen rampart reinforced by a palisade) and the rebuilding of the buildings inside the camp (construction of barracks of unburnt bricks covered with reeds). This camp was destroyed during an unexpected attack by the Germans in 179.

Late in the 2nd century, during the reign of Emperor Septimius Severus (193-211), a stone castle was built on the site of the destroyed camp. The square fortress, measuring 172 x 172 metres, was protected by walls 2 metres wide and about 4-5 metres high. The gates to the camp were protected by massive towers and the towers were also part of the fortification. The buildings in the castle were arranged in a street system, the most important ones were built of stone, others of unfired brick. In the 4th century, the fortifications of the castle were rebuilt and bastion towers were built in the corners. Similar bastion fortifications began to protect the North Gate (Porta Praetoria) in the Constantinian period. However, this gate was walled up during the reign of Emperor Valentinian I (364-375), and shortly afterwards the fortress was abandoned (or sacked).

Nowadays, the remains of the fortifications and the foundations of some buildings have been uncovered and preserved on the site of the former fortress. The whole area is equipped with information boards. In addition, there is a mobile application that brings closer the life in this military camp with the help of QR codes, which the visitor will find distributed in the area. After scanning them, the ancient Roman camp with all its buildings, stables, horses and soldiers is displayed directly on the mobile fromthe (quoting from the press release - I did not install the app and the QR codes were quite dirty with bird droppings at the time of the visit - see photo)

Source: my own visit 13.04.2024