Schitul de la Berislăveşti, jud. Vâlcea (1999)
The Berislăveşti Monastery (Vâlcea County) (1999)

Summary/Abstract: The monastic complex was built in the mid-18th century by the boyar Sandu Bucşenescu. It is a rectangular enclosure comprising an abbot house on the north side, a bell tower on the west side, a church in the middle, and other buildings (cells) on the south side.With the occasion of a restoration project, in 1999, archaeological excavations were carried out. The aim of the 10 trenches (only nine actually excavated) was to record data on the technical characteristics of the current building – the evolution of the phases, the structure and depth of the foundations and walls, changes in the construction levels; the identification of other possible constructions.Excavations have revealed several stages of construction of the monastic complex. The foundations are made of stone and mortar containing very small fragments of brick. The walls are built of brick and stone.At the present stage of research, the evolution of the whole is as follows: 1. the church (1752-1753); 2. the tower and the surrounding wall at least the north and west sides (already built in 1762); 3. the central body of the abbot's house; 4. room 1 (the belfry); 5. rooms 2-4; 6. room 8 (the east side of the house); 7. other buildings added to the west side of the surrounding wall north and south of the bell tower; buildings added to the north end including the veranda of the abbot's house.The general stratigraphy is very simple: 1. clay –archaeological sterile; 2. chestnut layer – earthwork to prepare the ground for the construction of the church; 3. a very thin layer of ash – resulting from deforestation by fire before the construction of the church; 4. level of construction of various buildings (cells) of the complex – mortar, stone and brick; 5 recent layer – chestnut or gray ground pigmented with traces of mortar and brick – indicating interventions of the 19th-20th centuries.During the archaeological excavations, some ceramic fragments were found, all belonging to the modern period. It should be emphasized that there is no trace of habitation in this place before the construction of the church (middle of the 18th century).

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