GEOGRAPHIA NAPOCENSIS AN. VI , nr. 1/2012 http://geographianapocensis.acad-cluj.ro Geographia Napocensis Anul VI, Nr. 1, 2012 65 SOME ASPECTS REGARDING THE TERRITORIAL EVOLUTION OF ODORHEIU SECUIESC TOWN ADRIAN NIŢĂ 1 , GHEORGHE ROŞIAN 2 ABSTRACT. – Some Aspects Regarding the Territorial Evolution of Odorheiu Secuiesc Town. By its geographical position, in a large depression on an intensely circulated valley corridor, Odorheiu Secuiesc town represented an important center among the settlements in the East of Transylvania. Since the relief was not a major restrictive factor, in the territorial evolution of the town the major role was played by its economical development and growth of the number of inhabitants. Along the centuries the settlement received important liberties, turning into an important administrative, commercial and education center. By the economical point of view, while in the other towns in the area the agriculture still represented the major weight, in Odorheiu Secuiesc intensely developed the crafts. For all that, the industrial development of the town took place only in the last half of the century, times when the town also experienced the most intense territorial extension. Key-Words: relief, river terraces, town, industry, development. 1. The Archaeological Evidence The first settlement on the territory of Odorheiu Secuiesc town is dating since the Aeneolithic. A layer of the Ariuşd-Cucuteni culture was discovered in Bud Fortress situated downstream the actual town, on the namesake hill, on the right bank of Târnava Mare River. The layer was overlapped by traces of habitation since the period of transition to the Bronze Age (Coţofeni Culture), the Bronze Age (Wietenberg culture), the first part of the Iron Age (Hallstatt) and the Dacians Age (The Archaeological Repertory of The Harghita County, 2000, p. 168 – 169). Though it is possible that some of these fortifications were older, the investigated elements belong to Dacians times (1 st century B.C. – 1 st century A.D.). Those times the fortress was intensively inhabited and it also represented a refuge place for the inhabitants of the large settlement at the foothills. When conquered, the fortification was destroyed by the Romans. Over its walls, in the 11 th – 12 th century were built up the ones of the medieval fortress (Bud Fortress), also with inhabiting traces. The Roman settlement, with military and civil characteristics, developed about two kilometers upstream, underneath the actual town center. Moreover, in most cases the built area of the settlements in vicinity, documentary attested in the 14 th century, overlaps the settlements of the Roman times. Like the Dacian settlement downstream, the Roman one had a large surface too, a sign of its high regional importance yet since then. The settlement had also thermae, considering the numerous pipe tubes discovered. The military constructions were represented by two towers found in the actual built up area of the town, and, most likely, a camp (castrum). Based on some archeological indirect evidence, the camp had existed on the place where in 1562 was built the second medieval fortress (Bató, 1998, p. 77). Over the Roman settlement were discovered inhabiting traces dating since the 4 th – 5 th , 6 th – 7 th , 9 th – 12 th centuries, the 13 th century and newer (The Archaeological Repertory of The Harghita County, 2000, p. 167 – 172). By the 7 th century the Slavic element penetrated the area. 1 „Babeş-Bolyai” University, Faculty of Geography, Gheorgheni University Extension, Gheorgheni, Grădina Csiki, 535500, Harghita County, Romania, e-mail: nitaadrian@hotmail.com 2 „Babeş-Bolyai” University, Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Cluj-Napoca, Fântânele street, no. 30, 400294, Cluj County, Romania, e-mail: georgerosian@yahoo.com