Decebalus (r. 87 – 106 AD) was the last king of Dacia. He is famous for fighting three wars, with varying success, against the Roman Empire under two emperors. After raiding south across the Danube, he defeated a Roman invasion in the reign of Domitian, securing a period of independence during which Decebalus consolidated his rule.
source
The rock sculpture that is the subject of my footage, in this post today, is dedicated to the Dacian King Decebalus Rex, who lived for our land, fought and died for it, in the times when we were called Dacians and this piece of land was named Dacia. In honor of his bravery, Iosif Constantin Dragan, who was a Romanian and Italian businessman, a writer and a historian, decided to dedicate one million dollars out of his almost $850 million fortune to sponsor what we now call the Decebalus Face rock sculpture.
The unfinished masterpiece is about 55 meters high, and it has a 25 meters width. It was designed and orchestrated by Florin Cotarcea, a local of my hometown, and teaming with some 10 mountaineering sculptors it took about ten years to do the job, a lot of effort and dedication being put into it, and many risks being taken while working there. All handcrafted and all at the risk of getting bitten by venomous snakes while hanging on the cliffs at over 30 degrees Celsius and carving with only the chisel and hammer.
The project, as you can see it in the footage, is about 70% finished and the nose and mustache have required a bit of maintenance over time. The reason for abandoning the continuation of the sculpture at this level was the sudden death of its sponsor. He was actually 92 though... His young and beautiful wife didn't pursued in sponsoring further hence we've got left with what you can see right now...
The sight is still considered the main attraction for thousands and thousands of tourists, in this area, and gets visited by them every single day, from early spring to late autumn. I have also, although being somehow a local, visited it tens of times, and lately we've done that with the drone as well.
I have previously posted multiple photos with that area, and with the sculpture, but I have to say that none gets that close to his nose as this footage. I'm perfectly aware that we could have done better in recording this short video, but we're not pros. I hope you guys will like it, and if any question pops out feel free to ask. Have a great day!
Thanks for attention,
Adrian
▶️ 3Speak
