Brebi - Dealul Mare 4 and Hurez - Dealul Prislop 5

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Brebi - Dealul Mare 4

   The Meseș mountains are not high, but they once marked the edge of an empire. In the early second century the Romans conquered Dacia and built a line of defences along the ridge, with a chain of watchtowers, small forts and earthworks, to guard the north-western frontier of the new province. The big fortress at Porolissum, at Moigrad, was the headquarters, and in between were dozens of small posts on hilltops, each in sight of the next. Brebi, a village in Sălaj county, lies on this frontier, and Dealul Mare, the Big Hill, is the kind of name given to the high ground where such a tower would stand.

   Read the complete Brebi - Dealul Mare 4 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Brebi - Dealul Mare 4 is where the day begins. Next is Trezenea - Gura Teghișului.

2. 2. Trezenea - Gura Teghișului

   The Meseș mountains are a low, forested ridge in northwestern Transylvania, and for the Romans they formed a natural wall at the edge of the province of Dacia. Along the ridge, they built a chain of forts, watchtowers and earthworks, and the big fort of Porolissum, near Zalău, was the key to it all, guarding a pass through the mountains used by traders and travellers. In 2024, much of this frontier was listed by UNESCO as part of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire – Dacia, and the site between Treznea and Gura Teghișului is one of its components. On the ground, there is little more than a line of ditches, banks and the foundations of towers, hidden in the forest.

   Read the complete Trezenea - Gura Teghișului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Trezenea - Gura Teghișului comes up about 21 km into the recorded legs. Next is Hurez - Dealul Prislop 5.

3. 3. Hurez - Dealul Prislop 5

   Some frontiers look dramatic on the map and modest on the ground, and the Roman watchtower site on Dealul Prislop near Hurez is a good example. Here, in the hills of Sălaj county in northwestern Romania, archaeologists have identified a series of small towers on high ground along the western frontier of Roman Dacia, which ran along the Meseș mountains and the hills around them. The towers were part of a chain of observation posts linked by signals, controlling movement across the frontier, and they are now included in the UNESCO listing of the Dacian frontier. Little is visible except low mounds and the shape of the land, but the views from the ridges explain why the Romans chose these spots.

   Read the complete Hurez - Dealul Prislop 5 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 53 km into the recorded legs you reach Hurez - Dealul Prislop 5. Next is back through Trezenea - Gura Teghișului.

4. 4. back through Trezenea - Gura Teghișului

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Trezenea - Gura Teghișului write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Trezenea - Gura Teghișului, late in the day. Next is Brebi - Dealul Mare 4.

5. 5. Brebi - Dealul Mare 4

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Brebi - Dealul Mare 4 write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Brebi - Dealul Mare 4. That is the ride.