HALF-BURIED HOUSE DRĂGHICENI, Olt, 19th century
Representative for the ethnographic area of Romanați, Ștefan Stanciu’s half-buried house from Drăghiceni, dated at the beginning of the 19th century, was transferred to the museum in 1949. Like the one from Castranova, it perpetuates ancient constructive techniques. The exterior walls are made from massive oak planks (“pidvoare”) that line the waterproofed by fire hole. The interior walls (“pimnezi”) are built of bricks, with strong forks embedded in them that support the main beam of the building. The roof is ridged, with the framing made from hatched-carved oak trunks (“mârtaci”) and the covering from successive layers of reed, earth and straws.
The frame at the entrance, decorated with archaic motifs such as the twisted rope, the solar circle, the rosettes, as well as the two wall plates carved as horse heads with protective role, give this dwelling a special touch.
The half-buried house plan, in the shape of the letter “L”, includes three rooms: the sloped “gârlici”, the kitchen or “the fire room” (“ogeac”), where the open hearth with chimney is found, and the living room, with an in-wall “blind” stove. On the hearth and around it, are the objects needed for preparing and serving meals: the dome-shaped lid for baking bread, the trivet, the kneading trough (“căpister”), the recipients for liquids picked from the nature (bottle gourds), the low round table with wooden chairs, etc.
The living room has two beds made of planks placed at a right angle, with the legs hammered into the earth floor, on which were placed geometrically decorated dowry chests and vividly coloured thick hemp rugs. The attention is drawn by the “oblamnic”, a round object for domestic purposes that was worn on the head in order to transport more easily various recipients or weights.
