Polygonal sheep wintershed, GRĂDIȘTEA DE MUNTE, Hunedoara year 1960
Is a pastoral construction specific to the scattered villages north of the Luncani Platform and from Mărginimea Sebeşului, its main purpose being to shelter the sheep in winter, in the middle of the grass land, where the householder gathered and kept most of the hay.
The monument was transferred to the National Museum of the "Dimitrie Gusti" Village in 1990 from Adam Bodea from Sub Cununi hamlet (Grădiştea de Munte village), located 10 km north of Sarmizegetusa Regia fortress, the capital of Dacia.
The wintershed, having the shape of an eleven-sided polygon, is placed on a short stone sill wall made of unbound masonry, over which stand the walls of beech beams carved on four sides with dovetail joints. On the other side of the door is the “obloc”, a smaller opening that served to evacuate the manure. Beside the fact that the shorter beams were easier to obtain, the almost round shape ensured a higher resistance against bad weather.
The conical roof has the framework made of eleven long rafters (called “caferi”) made of soft wood, connected at top on a crown (locally called the hat cross). The lack of a ceiling ensures permanent ventilation, as well as the rapid and uniform distribution of the heat generated by the 150 sheep which could be sheltered here on a winter night.
