THE DISCOVERY OF ‘YENI-KALE’ FORTRESS NEAR TURNU MĂGURELE
THE DISCOVERY OF ‘YENI-KALE’ FORTRESS NEAR TURNU MĂGURELE

Summary/Abstract: A late medieval fortress has been uncovered under a thick forest on the left bank of the Danube, near the Turnu Măgurele port, Teleorman County. The discovery was made by the author using modern research tools, such as a new Digital Terrain Model (DTM) available for the Danube River floodplains. Further historical research followed. Using mostly online resources and digital research techniques, it was confirmed that this is the Turkish fortress called ‘Kale’, ‘Yeni-Kale’, ‘Kalea’, ‘Turnu Nou’ or ‘Cetatea Nouă’, probably built during the 18th century. In the final years of its existence, the citadel was fortified by the Ottomans with five towers and a moat, having a star shape, similar to the nearby Turnu fortress. It served as a bridge-head, securing the Turnu port (Schela) and the Danube crossing between Turnu and Nicopolis. It was the location of heavy fighting during the 1828-1829 Russo-Turkish War, and conquered by the Russians on 25th of January 1829. Soon after the Treaty of Adrianople the fortress was dismantled and by the end of the 19th century, when a new forest was planted on the site, almost all trace of it was lost.

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