Introduction or Hello World

I've decided to start this blog for several reasons: first the practical one, storing photos and videos online so that (by some malfunction, ahem, remembering the loss of my entire summer research project with michal) i can easily revisit the material and share it with my friends, professors, randos etc. Second, as you might know I am writing a thesis in art history on the role of daco-roman art and archeology in the 1970s in Romania and i would like feedback on my ideas and style of writing. And third, I am also producing a personal documentary on this experience, where i put myself and my family at the center of exploring how the past is remembered in Romania, why and how it relates to the present.

As you may or may not know, Romanians are very keen on their ancestors, and pride themselves in being direct descendants of the Romans and the Dacians. You may have heard of the Romans. Well, in around 100 CE they conquered Dacia, inhabited by the geto-dacians, partly the territory of present-day Romania. Taking a bunch of gold, slaves and armor back to Rome, Trajan built a monumental Forum for himself and the more famous Column of Trajan, which represents his campaigns in Dacia, and in which he was later buried.

It is inferred that Dacia became a Roman colony and the two civilizations intermingled ( read, the Romans killed most of the Dacian men, sold the able bodied remainder into slavery and remarried Dacian women)
During Aurelian, 170 years or so later, it is said that the Romans retreated(the Empire wasn't doing very well) and hence several theories have been formulated as to what happened to the daco-romans. Did they scatter? Were they finished off by the migratory populations? Did they stay for another thousand years? All these questions are paramount in how Romanians view themselves today, their right to live on the present day territory and their claim to a glorious Latin heritage.

Here is where my thesis begins: most of these theories have been severely influenced by the powers that be in Romania, whether the local government, the Soviet Union or the Hapsburg Empire, manipulating the archaeological evidence so as to give legitimacy to their leadership. These re-writings of the past affected not only history books but the language and culture in general. I chose to focus on the 1970s because, during the Communist regime, the Dacians were glorified to the extent that they were presented as equals to the greatest civilizations of the ancient world ( wink, romans). Romanians were encouraged to see themselves as Dacians (primarily) and Romans reborn under the banner of communism.

Of course, I have to mention that regardless of whether the daco-romans factor in our genetic mix or not, many other people have contributed to our ethnic heritage including the slavs, the germans, the huns, the roma and other people that have been documented living in Romania centuries after the dacians and the romans did. But no matter for the communists only focused on the presumably first two throughout their cultural revolution.

In my project I am writing about 3 sites/works of art: a copy of Trajan's Column in Bucharest, revealed in the Museum of History in 1972, Tropaeum Traiani, another 1970's reconstructions of a Roman victory monument in Adamclisi(this is actually pretty close to my hometown, Constanta), and Sarmisegetuza or Sarmizegetusa, which refers to the ancient Dacian capital and the Roman city built in its vicinity,(Ulpia Traiana) both excavated in this period and used as a site for public celebrations- Dacian themed of course.

During my winter break in Romania, I will re-visit all these places, take pictures, interview scholars and locals about them as well as film material for the personal documentary. So please stay tuned, as i will update this blog regularly. This is also a chance to see some pretty gorgeous mountain scenery and lots of farm animals.

Also, I will make a public presentation of all this sometime in early April, so mark your calendars!