Most people who know the Roman Empire think of Hadrian's Wall or the Rhine, but there was also a Roman frontier in the hills of north-western Transylvania, and this is part of it. The province of Dacia Porolissensis was guarded by a line of forts and wooden watchtowers on ridge tops, and the great fort and customs station at Porolissum, at Moigrad, was its centre. UNESCO added the Dacia Porolissensis frontier to its listing of Roman frontiers in 2024. Brebi lies close to Porolissum, and the ridge called Dealul Mare gives a sense of why the Romans chose these hills: wide views over the valleys and the approaches from the north.
The ground here is rolling country of the Meseș mountains and their foothills, with grassy ridges, beech and oak woods, plum orchards and villages with long, sloping streets. A watchtower site looks like very little today, a low mound or the outline of a ditch under grass, so it asks for some imagination. Think of a small garrison, a signal fire or a horn, and a long, lonely watch over the border with the free Dacians and the tribes beyond.
Riding here is quiet and unhurried. The county roads are mostly asphalt, sometimes worn, with villages every few kilometres, horse carts, dogs, and a lot of sheep. Bends are gentle and views are wide, especially from the ridge roads, and the traffic is very light outside the towns. In summer the haystacks along the fields look like small houses, and in autumn the plum harvest fills the air with a sweet smell that anyone who has smelled fermenting plums will recognise; this is the home of tuică and pălincă, the fruit brandies that Transylvanians offer with great generosity.
Mirșid, Creaca and Dobrin are small villages with a few shops and bars, while Zalău, the county town a short distance to the north-east, has fuel, supermarkets, restaurants and a proper hotel. Do not count on fuel in the villages. The best months are May to October, and in winter the snow can close small roads for days. Stop at Porolissum if you can, where the walls of the fort, the amphitheatre and the customs post give shape to the whole frontier.