Introductory Study on the Rock-hewn Vestiges of Buzău Region, Romania

The rural area of Aluniş-Colţi-Nucuand Bozioru, Buzău region is the centre of a rock-hewn vestige complex which spreads across the entire northern part of Buzău County. Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, this area was home to a large monastic community, concentrated around the rock-hewn vestiges. The hermitages which existed there have confronted with harsh geographic conditions and endless conflicts with local landowners, therefore many of them were decommissioned or have been moved. Having also disappeared from historical documents, some hermitages have vanished completely and their old locations are currently difficult to identify. The present study aims to establish some theoretical aspects regarding the rock-hewn vestiges, as well as the context in which the monastic life appeared and to reunite all the known information about the lost hermitages in order to have a better understanding of their distribution across time and space.