Mânăstirea Plătăreşti, jud. Călăraşi (1999)
The Plătăreşti Monastery (Călăraşi County)

Summary/Abstract: The monastic complex was built in the 17th century during the reign of the voivode Matei Basarab (1632-1654). It is a rectangular enclosure comprising a house on the north side, a bell tower on the west side and a church in the middle. During the centuries, the monastery has been severely damaged, transformed into a prison, a warehouse and a hospital, until today when the church became a parish church.With the occasion of a restoration project, archaeological excavations were carried out in 1999. The purpose of the 15 trenches was to record data concerning the princely house – the evolution of the phases, the structure and the depth of the foundations, the walls, the evolution of the building levels, the relation with other buildings (cells); the identification of the old tower and other possible constructions.The so-called princely house, which superimposes a cellar, has been excavated only on the outside, and the following situation has been recorded: the north wall was built at the same time as the entrance to the cellar; in another phase, at the east end of this wall, a toilet was added. The foundation was made of brick and mortar. The buildings (cells) on the south side were later added to the house. Later, perhaps in the 19th century, the original appearance of the house was modified by the construction of a new facade.The slabs in the entrance area have revealed foundations belonging to the former bell tower. To the north, added to the foundation of the bell tower, is a wall, which indicates, at this stage of the research, the presence of a building between the bell tower and the so-called princely house. The foundations of the surrounding wall were built at the same time as the old bell tower.The buildings (cells) on the north side were rebuilt in another stage, the north wall superimposing the old foundation and the south wall being moved north with 60-70 cm. The original foundation is added to the house’s foundation.In the case of the building on the south side, there is also a reconstruction stage. The buildings on the east side are modern constructions with concrete foundations built in the same way as the current bell tower’s foundation.At the present stage of research, the evolution of the complex is: 1. The so-called princely house; 2. the former bell tower, the surrounding wall and the building on the west side; 3. the buildings on the north and south sides; 4. reconstruction of the buildings on the north and south sides; 5. the current entrance, the new bell tower, the building on the east side. The first three stages took place in a fairly short interval from the second half of the 17th century to the beginning of the eighteenth century. The fourth stage dates from the 19th century, and the fifth belongs to the 20th century.The general stratigraphy is the following: 1. clay –archaeological sterile; 2. chestnut layer – the Iron Age (La Tène); 3. reddish yellow layer – resulting from the excavation of the cellar; 4. level of construction of the princely house; 5. level of construction of buildings; 6. level of construction of the old bell tower; 7. other constructive interventions, different reconstructions; 8. grey earth layer.During the archaeological excavations, some ceramic fragments were found, most of which belong to the 17th-19th centuries, a single fragment dating from the Iron Age.

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