Tourism and Archaeology: Back to Origins

Cristina PĂTRAŞCU1, Florin FODOREAN2, Ioan FODOREAN1
1 Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of Geography, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
2 Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of History and Philosophy, Cluj-Napoca, ROMANIA
E-mail: cpatrascu@geografie.ubbcluj.ro, fodorean_f@yahoo.com, fioan@geografie.ubbcluj.ro
Pages: 57-64

Abstract. Archaeological tourism is an alternative form of cultural tourism, which aims to promote the passion for history and the preservation of historical sites. Unfortunately, today, in Romania, there is not a real connection between archaeology and tourism and there are only few sites exploited for tourism. The interests between archaeology and tourism due to the preservation and the capitalization of the historical remains, generates, in fact a sustainable form of tourism. From this point of view the attractiveness of the sites is based on the idea of preserving the “spirit of place” by safeguarding of tangible and intangible heritage. This is the most important in capitalizing the Romanian rural space, too. A fascinating subject related to archaeological tourism is Roman archaeological remains. In this paper we will make a classification of some roman archaeological sites by the level of importance for tourism. This sites are all situated in rural area: the milestone from the Roman period situated in Aiton Village, the rural settlement from the Roman era, the aqueduct and the Roman road from Copăceni  and the Roman camp, the Roman road, the temples and the possibility for a touristic site museum from Tibiscum . Finally, the paper will consider three sites near Cluj-Napoca: Dealul Lomb (a Roman villa), Polus Centre area (the remains preserved in situ) and the Sănduleşti settlement (Roman remains, near the spring of Copăceni which was captured in the Roman era, too).

K e y w o r d s:  tourism, archaeology, Roman Dacia, patrimony