Dineya Fortress

Dineya is a Roman fortress of Antiquity, Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, situated about 23 km northeast of Shumen and north of the former Bulgarian capital Pliska. Its greatest flourishing came in the 3rd and 4th centuries, after which it gradually declined.

It was built in response to increasingly frequent barbarian invasions from the north and formed one of the intermediate road stations between the fortresses of Abritus and Marcianopolis. During the period from the 3rd to the 5th century, it suffered burning and destruction at the hands of the Goths and Huns.

Dineya Fortress lies in the Hisarya locality and has an irregular pentagonal shape. Its wall faces are built of dressed stone bonded with mortar and crushed roof tiles. Beside the northwestern wall, where the fortress is most accessible, a second defensive wall, or proteichisma, was erected, demolished and subsequently rebuilt. A broad, deep moat lies in front of it.

Fourteen fan-shaped and semicircular towers are found within the fortress, reaching diameters of up to 18.5 metres. The walls and towers use the mixed masonry characteristic of Late Antiquity. The brickworks of the manufacturer Dules lies about 1.5 km northeast of the fortress.

Dineya Fortress provides important information about the region's past and bears witness to possible armed conflicts and strategic circumstances during different historical periods.