Recent diggings at Ardeu fortress reveal Dacians’ unexpected habits: men drank beer while women used pricey perfumes

Recent diggings at the former Dacian fortress in Ardeu, Hunedoara county, discovered 15 years ago, have brought into the light interesting clues about our ancestors’ habits. It seemed that Dacians from this fortress used to drink beer and spoil their wives with expensive and rare perfumes. Proofs of the last battles between Romans and Dacians have been also tracked down here.

“The Dacian road was made of stone and served as the main route for the fortress’ supplies. It was a roadway for the ox-carts,” said one of the team archeologists.

Another archeologist unveils that the ruins belong to the main fortification of the fortress, where the tribe leader and his elite were residing. Archeologists estimate that 30 persons lived in the fortification. The civil settlement where the rest of community used to live were a little bit far way in the south.

Tourists visiting the fortress found out some peculiar details on the former dwellers’ habits. For example, archeologists claim that Dacians from Ardeu used to drink beer, unlike those from other fortresses, who were mostly winebibbers.

Moreover, they seemed to express love for their wives by buying them expensive gifts, such as rare perfumes brought from distant places located hundreds of kilometers away.

“There was a craftsman with fine tastes, so he used to bring Roman perfumes to his wife, most probably from a faraway fair,” archeologist Iosif Ferencz told Digi 24.

Diggers also found proofs of the battles taken in Ardeu, most precisely tracks of the last Roman-Dacian battle taking place in 106. Five to seven decades after the Dacians were conquered, Romans have turned the location into one of their observation points.

The object and arms found in Ardeu will go on display at the Museum of Dacian and Roman Civilization in Deva, sometimes in the near future.