Câineni (Pons Vetus? Tabula Peutingeriana VIII, 1)
Location: Câinenii Mari, Câineni commune, Vâlcea county (RAN: 169137.01; VL-I-s-B-09522)
On the left bank of the Olt, north-east of Câineii Mici village, the point at Turnulețe, where the village stream spills into the Olt river, the existence of a fortification (fort?), destroyed by the waters of the Olt was assumed. A monetary hoard comprised of coins minted between the reigns of Hadrian and Philippus Arabs was discovered near the point where the fort was located, in the supposed vicus.
Vlădescu noted that in a field survey from 1976 he did not identify at Câineni the traces of any mentioned fort, but only of a square tower with a side of about 4 m. It could not be investigated due to the forest road overlapping it in 1979 (Vlădescu 1986, 79, 121 note 274).
Some researchers place the fort on the right bank of the Olt, in Câinenii Mari, on the plateau Malul Podului, near the western end of the current bridge, the fortress of Arxavia was built. On the occasion of its construction (between 1717-1719), General Schwanz recorded that he had not identified the ruins of a Roman fortification, but that it was impossible that the Romans did not have a fort in this place or nearby.
During a survey from 1979, no significant traces could be identified at the site (Vlădescu 1986, 121 note 274).
In Câineni, the Loviștei road and the Olt road meet (Conea 1935, 19, 95, 74 i). Câineni is also important because both roads meet here, both from Valahia-Mică (Drumul Loviștei) and from Valahia-Mare (Drumul Oltului).
In the gorge between Câineni and Boiţa the Roman road was destroyed due to the works on the railway, but Polonic noticed it at several points.
A large construction (20×50 m), whose archaeological research has not been completed, was identified 80 m S of the fortification. Heating and bathing facilities may belong to the baths used by the garrison of the fortification or a larger complex. Nearby were discovered the remains of a building (11×10.5 m), interpreted by N. Lupu as a statio or a tabularium portorii.
Traces of ceramic fragments coming from the civil settlement can be found around the fortification; a monetary treasure buried probably in the context of the Carpi invasion of 245 AD was discovered on its territory, about 60 m north-west of the fortification, in the ruins of a building with a stone foundation and a wooden structure.
Râul Vadului
Location: Câineni commune, Vâlcea county
The mention of a fort was argued based on notes from Marsigli at the point he called “Citateșu”, later “Poarta lui Traian”.
Vlădescu noted that in a field 1976 survey, he did not identify traces of any fort mentioned in Câineni (Vlădescu 1986, 79). On the basis of verbal information, he conducted a survey that did not lead to relevant results. No further information was obtained following on-the-spot verifications.
Part of the study:
Ovidiu Țentea, Florian Matei-Popescu, Vlad Călina, Frontiera romană din Dacia Inferior. O trecere în revistă și o actualizare. 1., Cercetări Arheologice, Vol. 28.1, pag. 9-90, 2021, doi: https://doi.org/10.46535/ca.28.1.01
Bibliography
Conea 1935; TIR L 35, 33; Tudor 1978, 287, nr. 30; Bogdan-Cătăniciu 1981, 84 n. 267; Vlădescu 1983, 114, nr. 20; Vlădescu 1986, 79, 121 nota 274; Gudea 1997, 94, nr. 83; Dudău 2006, 70-71, nr. 19; 104; Marcu 2009, 196, nr. 44.