Digital Geographies and Virtual Landscape Archaeology : Reconstructing the Iron Gates Castle System Under the Miasma of COVID-19

The Iron Gates gorge system is formed by the convergence of the Carpathians and Balkan mountain ranges that collide and plunge directly into the Danube River (Fig. 1). The geographical conditions of this region have created a frontier zone in different periods, and the historical context of this article deals specifically with the period between 1429 and c. 1435 when this castle system was placed under the control of a contingent from the Teutonic Order to help defend the Kingdom of Hungary against an impending Ottoman invasion. The Teutonic Order’s mission was a military expedition and King Sigismund’s use of a contingent from the Teutonic Order as a military force in this region was a part of his overall strategy to protect his kingdom from further invasion by Ottoman armies under Sultan Murad II (1404–1451). The Danube river, itself, at this time served as the frontier between the Kingdom of Hungary and the recently conquered Ottoman territory on the southern bank. The theme of this article centers on the application of traditional techniques of landscape archaeology to perform a military analysis of these fortifications in the Iron Gates castle chain using more novel avenues of research- given travel bans and other restrictions brought about by the on-going Corona-19 crisis.