Dinogetia Dinogetia was an ancient Geto - Dacian settlement and later Roman fortress located on the right ( southern ) bank of the Danube near the place where it joins the Siret . The Dinogetia site is situated in Dobrogea at 8 kilometres east of Galați , Romania and 2 kilometers north of the village Gărvan . Roman and Byzantine period . The Geto - Dacian settlement was conquered by the Romans and transformed into a boundary fortress . The site was mentioned by Ptolemy . Located in the center of an arch made by the Danube around Macin , Galați and Gura Prutului , the Roman fortress of Dinogetia - Garvãn had initially been a castellum ( a small fortress ) , having its role in the defensive system on the Lower Danube . Some other important Roman fortresses at the time , were those from Barbosi ( Galați County ) and Troesmis ( Tulcea County ) . Having had a great importance in Constantine the Great ' s time , the fortress was reinforced since Diocletian . In Anastasius ' and Justinian ' s time some structures were added to the stronghold . But , by the end of the 2nd century AD , when the great barbarian invasions had begun , Dinogetia increased its importance , especially after the abandon by the Romans of the Dacian province . Its strategic position in the north - western corner of Dobrudja , gave the fortress an important role in the defensive system of the province . After a period of rebuilding during the Severan period , in the 3rd century Dinogetia was again a target for the barbarian invaders . After the abandon of Dacia , the strategic importance of the site had increased , Aurelian , Probus and Diocletian thus initiating a policy of fortification of the entire Danubian limes , Dinogetia included . During the Late Antiquity Dinogetia had a key role in the defensive system of the Roman province . Anastasius , then Justinian reinforced the fortress ' walls . The attack of the Avars / Kutrigurs under Zabergan ' s command in 559 had disastrous consequences for the stronghold . Archaeological research has uncovered ruins of a large house , a Roman bath , a church , a basilica and a graveyard outside the wall . These ruins had been heavily damaged by a feudal site built over the Roman one . The Diocletian constructed wall ( c . 3 m wide ) has fourteen horseshoe - shaped towers . From the Later Roman Empire there are registered at Dinogetia bricks stamped with the mark of legio I Iovia Scythica and the presence of Gothic federates as well . Also , the 4th century witnessed the building of " the house of the commander " ( domus ) , as well as the baths , the last perhaps built even earlier , according to the last archaeological finds . Also , the written sources , such as Notitia Dignitatum , certify some milities Scythici ( NDOr , XXXIX , 24 ) , thus a confirmation of the archaeological evidence . In the ecclesiastical sources there are registered Christian martyrs dated in the reign of Licinius , especially from the army , thus certifying the Christianization of the area . Other army units that were stationed at Dinogetia include : Legio V Macedonica , Cohors I Cilicum , Cohors II Mattiacorum , cl . fl . Moesica ( 2nd century ) , Legio I Iovia ( 4th century ) The fortress had been inhabited until the end of the 6th or the beginning of the 7th century when , in the context of Phokas ' rebellion , the entire limes of Lower Danube had collapsed under the pressure of Slav tribes . In this context , Dinogetia also was abandoned as a military strongpoint . The fortress was rebuilt and became the siege of a Byzantine garrison after the successful campaigns of the emperor Ioannes Tzimiskes ( 969 - 976 ) against the Kievian Russians , when Dobrogea was again incorporated to the Empire . The presence of Byzantine troops is certified until the 12th century , when Dinogetia was gradually deserted and finally abandoned perhaps in 1186 . Middle Age period . 9th - century church findings :