Trajan's Wall

Trajan's Wall (Romanian: Valul lui Traian) is the name used for several linear earthen fortifications (Latin: valla) found across Eastern Europe, Moldova, Romania, and Ukraine. Contrary to the name and popular belief, evidence shows the ramparts were likely not built under the reign of Trajan, but later, in the period of Late Antiquity. The association with the Roman Emperor Trajan may be a recent scholarly invention of the national awakening movement of the 19th century, linking the emerging identity of the modern Romanian people to the glory of Classical Rome. Documents from medieval Moldavia referred to the earthworks as Troian, likely in reference to a mythological hero in the Romanian and Slavic folklore.^[1] The other major earthen fortification in Romania, Brazda lui Novac (Novac's Furrow), is also named after a mythological hero.