The castra of Călugăreni was a fort in the Roman province of Dacia. The fort was erected in the 2nd century AD. Archaeological research also proved the existence of a nearby canabae. Abandoned in the 3rd century, the ruins of the fort are located in Călugăreni, Romania. Location The fort is situated on the north-western periphery of the modern village Călugăreni, on the southern bank of the river Niraj at an altitude of around 445 m above sea level. In ancient times it was located in the province Dacia Superior on the eastern limes road between the forts of Brâncovenești in the north and Sărățeni in the southeast. Using a chain of watchtowers and exploiting the natural barriers of the mountains near Gurghiu and Carpathian Mountains of Târnava Mică, its garrison had the task of securing the upper Niraj's valley and the valley of Săcădat, through which traffic routes used since pre-Roman times led to the Barbaricum. History of research The fort was first described in the early 18th century by Luigi Ferdinando Marsigli, who was also the first to produce a topographic map. At the end of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century (1733, 1778, 1787, 1830 and 1842) the site was repeatedly mentioned in several newspapers. The first information about excavations in this area was published by Károly Benkő 1868. He also mentioned for the first time at least halfway correctly the size of the fort with 170 by 150 steps. In the same year, Balázs Orbán measured the area and came up with 210 times 160 steps, but explicitly pointed out the rounded corners with towers and two gates. The first excavations, documented at least summarily by F. Deák, took place in 1878 under the direction of F. Kovács. During these excavations parts of the porta principalis sinistra (left side gate) were found. In addition, a roughly hewn, lying sandstone lion one metre long and a fragmentary inscription were discovered at a depth of two metres. The scientists of the late 19th century published mainly to the already published data or added smaller details. The publications from the first half of the 20th century mainly dealt with the history of Roman Dacia and the military history of the region, as well as with the connecting road known as the Trajan Road and, above all, with a building still visible at that time