# Sources and claim checks — O sută de locuri unice din România

## Geographic and boundary attribution

- Boundary geometry: geoBoundaries ROU ADM0/ADM1, World Bank / ANCPI-derived, CC BY 4.0; simplified with Shapely for editorial display.
- Coordinates verification: ANCPI (Agenția Națională de Cadastru și Publicitate Imobiliară) spatial data, OpenStreetMap 2026 extracts, protected areas boundary registers (ANANP - Agenția Națională pentru Arii Naturale Protejate).

## Primary sources by category

| Claim / Subject | Primary source & edition | Evidence & findings | Limits & caveats |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Peștera Movile (C01) | Sârbu, S. M., Kane, T. C., & Kinkle, B. K. (1996). *A chemoautotrophically based cave ecosystem*. Science, 272(5270), 1966-1968; Romanian Speleological Institute "Emil Racoviță". | 35 strictly endemic terrestrial and aquatic invertebrate species; sealed ecosystem functioning on H₂S and CH₄ oxidation without sunlight for 5.5 Ma. | Interior strictly restricted to authorized research teams; visitor access is via museum and surface center. |
| Peștera Urșilor (C02) | Bleahu, M., & Rusu, T. (1979). *Peștera Urșilor de la Chișcău*. Editura Științifică; Romanian Academy Speleology Reports. | In situ accumulation of >140 complete articulated *Ursus spelaeus* skeletons dated to ~15,000 BP. | Scientific reserve section is sealed; tourist path covers 847 m. |
| Ghețarul Scărișoara (C03) | Holmlund, P., et al. (2005); Perșoiu, A., et al. (2017). *Holocene winter climate variability in Central and Eastern Europe*. Scientific Reports 7, 1196. | Underground ice block volume measured at >100,000 m³; ice stratification spans >4,000 continuous years. | Ice volume fluctuates seasonally; lower scientific gallery access restricted. |
| Peștera cu Oase (C04) | Fu, Q., Hajdinjak, M., Moldovan, O. T., et al. (2015). *An early modern human from Romania with a recent Neanderthal ancestor*. Nature 524, 216–219. | Oase 1 lower jaw (~40,000 BP) contains 6–9% Neanderthal genome, indicating a Neanderthal ancestor 4–6 generations prior. | Cave closed to public; educational museum and regional karst trail open. |
| Dinozaurii pitici din Hațeg (C05) | Nopcsa, F. (1915); Benton, M. J., Csiki, Z., et al. (2010). *Island life in the Cretaceous - faunal composition, biogeography, evolution, and extinction of land-living vertebrates on the Late Cretaceous European archipelago*. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 293(3-4), 285-298. | Island dwarfism demonstrated in *Magyarosaurus dacus*, *Telmatosaurus*, and *Zalmoxes*; in situ fossilized egg clutches at Tuștea. | Fossil sites protected under UNESCO Geopark status; excavation strictly regulated. |
| Lacul Ursu (C06) | Puskás, A., et al. (2013). *Heliothermic phenomena in Lake Ursu (Sovata)*. Central European Journal of Geosciences. | Surface freshwater lens preserves solar heating in subterranean hyper-saline layers up to 35–40°C. | Swimming restricted to specific midday hours to prevent artificial mixing of layers. |
| Mofeta Peștera Pucioasa (C07) | Kis, B. M., et al. (2017). *Gas emissions and mofette dynamics in the Eastern Carpathians*. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. | Daily emission of ~3,000 m³ dry CO₂ and sulfur gas with visible condensation line. | Safety line marked on walls must be strictly obeyed by visitors. |
| Pădurea Letea & Caraorman (C08) | Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve Authority (ARBDD); Petrescu, M. (2007). *Flora and vegetation of the Danube Delta*. | 500-year-old *Quercus robur* stands intertwined with *Periploca graeca* on maritime sand dunes; feral horse populations. | Access strictly guided via designated off-road tracks to preserve dune vegetation. |
| Cimitirul Vesel & Săpânța-Peri (C09) | Pop, M. (1972). *Obiceiuri tradiționale românești*; National Heritage Institute (INP); UNESCO World Heritage Centre. | >800 hand-carved painted wooden crosses with naive verse; Săpânța-Peri spire measures 78 m (tallest timber church in Europe/world). | Open heritage site; preservation of wooden polychromy requires ongoing restoration. |
| Densuș, Prejmer, Dârjiu (C10) | Vătășianu, V. (1959). *Istoria artei feudale în țările române*; UNESCO World Heritage List criteria (iv). | Densuș built with Roman spolia from Sarmizegetusa; Prejmer 272-room family redoubt curtain wall; Dârjiu ancestral weekly bacon storage. | Active parish churches alongside museum operation. |
| Sarmizegetusa Regia & Fortresses (C11) | Daicoviciu, H. (1972). *Dacii*; Glodariu, G., et al. (1996). *Sarmizegetusa Regia, capitala statului dac*; UNESCO List 906. | Andesite Great Circular Sanctuary with 180 andesite pillars; limestone *murus dacicus* masonry; Roman conquest documented 106 AD. | High-altitude mountain road access; winter conditions affect trail. |
| Saligny Cernavodă & Oravița-Anina (C12) | Ionescu, D. (1975). *Inginerul Anghel Saligny*; CFR Historical Archive. | Saligny bridge spanned 4,088 m in 1895 with cantilever Siemens-Martin steel; Oravița-Anina opened in 1863 with 14 hand-cut rock tunnels. | Saligny bridge preserved as historic industrial monument; Oravița line active for passenger traffic. |
| Ansamblul Brâncuși Târgu Jiu (C13) | Hulten, P., et al. (1987). *Brancusi*; UNESCO World Heritage List (2024). | 1.5 km monumental axis: Table of Silence, Gate of the Kiss, Endless Column (29.33 m tall, 15 modules in brass-coated cast iron). | Public municipal park access; preservation of metal coatings strictly monitored. |
| Mănăstirile pictate din Bucovina (C14) | Grabar, A. (1967). *L'art du Moyen Âge en Europe orientale*; UNESCO List 598. | Voroneț exterior Last Judgment on natural azurite pigment; Sucevița Ladder of Virtues with 30 moral rungs. | Exterior frescoes exposed to seasonal weathering; photography prohibited inside sanctuaries. |
| Batthyányeum & Codex Aureus (C15) | Jakó, Z. (1976). *Philobiblon transilvan*; National Library of Romania Special Collections. | *Codex Aureus* (Lorsch Gospels, ca. 800 AD) gold-ink script on purple vellum; 1792 astronomical observatory. | Strict security archival custody; public access by designated appointment. |
| Memorialele Sighet și Pitești (C16) | Blandiana, A., & Rusan, R. (1997). *Centrul Internațional de Studii asupra Comunismului*; Furet, F. (1995). *Le passé d'une illusion*. | First museum memorial of communism victims recognized by Council of Europe; authentic cellular architecture and documentation. | High-sensitivity historical memory site. |

## Image licenses and visual assets

All photographic evidence integrated into this project is sourced from verified open archives (Wikimedia Commons / public domain / Creative Commons CC BY and CC BY-SA). Complete metadata, attribution, author, and license statements are stored alongside each record in `data/places.json` and presented in reader-facing captions.

## Fable-rebuild assets (2026-09-22, verified per file)

- `public/assets/fonts/Fraunces-display.woff2` — Fraunces variable display face subset, SIL Open Font License 1.1 (design: Undercase Type / Phaedra Charles and Flavia Zimbardi; OFL license).
- `public/assets/fonts/AtkinsonHyperlegibleNext.woff2` — Atkinson Hyperlegible Next, SIL Open Font License 1.1 (Braille Institute; OFL license).
- Trovant cross-section emblem (`data-motif="trovant"`, inline SVG in hero) — original artwork drawn for this atlas from record 29 (Costești trovants); no third-party license involved.
- Map rivers, Carpathian relief shading, region/city labels — schematic editorial cartography hand-drawn from real waypoint coordinates (river towns, county geometry from geoBoundaries ROU ADM0/ADM1, CC BY 4.0, as above). The page caption states that river courses are schematic.
- No new photographic assets were added; the 10 existing record images keep their `data/places.json` credits.

## Myth-panel provenance

Each myth panel answers strictly from the cited atlas record(s) and the rows above: trovants (records 29–30), Lake Ursu (record 25 + Lacul Ursu row), mud volcanoes (record 19), Pucioasa mofette (record 24 + Mofeta row), Hoia-Baciu (record 39, marked disputed where the record gives no settled explanation).