Sequences of the Transylvanian Limesforschung. István Ferenczi and the limites research in Dacia Porolissensis

Abstract

The present article focuses on the activity of the Hungarian archaeologist István Ferenczi (1921-2000) in the field of Roman frontier studies. On the occasion of his 100th birthday, we consider it more than necessary to review his enormous pioneering research on the minor (watchtowers, fortlets) and linear frontier fortifications, together with an approach regarding his theoretical outlooks on how the frontier of the northern Dacia worked. The structure of the study will follow several key aspects through which we want to present Ferenczi’s research and contextualized activity synthetically, as mentioned. After a brief introduction that will contain a few biographic notes, we will discuss, by turn, issues regarding his field surveys in various frontier areas of Dacia Porolissensis, his (few) archaeological excavations, his theoretical background, and his general interpretations of the functionality of the Roman frontier.

Keywords

• ferenczi istván
• roman frontier
• dacia porolissensis
• field survey
• archaeological theory