Roata De Jos can be understood through two defining features: the landscape along the Dâmbovnic and the historic remains of the village and its surroundings. The named finds and monuments span the period from the Bronze Age to the 20th century.

Landscape along the Dâmbovnic

Roata De Jos lies in the floodplain of the Dâmbovnic Valley, within the Găvanu-Burdea subunit of the Romanian Plain. The village is located mostly on the plain and on the river’s left bank. The plain is 1.5 to 2 kilometres wide. Slopes on both sides bound it and lead up to the higher plateau. The landscape is thus divided into the river’s floodplain, its side slopes and the adjoining higher ground.

The road connection also provides clear orientation: at Roata De Jos, county road DJ611 branches off from DJ601. It heads northwest to Gratia in Teleorman County.

Churches and historical milestones

The “Adormirea Maicii Domnului” Church in Sadina is located at 13 Strada Petrolistului. The church, built in 1668, is listed by the commune as a tourist attraction. It is also the surviving part of a monks’ monastery founded in 1668 during the reign of Radu Leon Voievod. The construction date and the monastery’s foundation fall in the same year; the church thus bears witness both to an architectural monument and to the monastery’s history.

Two other churches offer a point of comparison across time. The “Sfântul Gheorghe” Church in Cartojani is an architectural monument dating from 1852. In the village of Roata De Jos stands the “Sfântul Nicolae”-Zgaia Church, also an architectural monument, dating from 1912. The year 1852 precedes 1912; both churches date from a later period than the Sadina church, built in 1668.

Another historical milestone concerns the village’s history: the settlement of Roata is first mentioned in a document issued by Vladislav II on 5 August 1451.

Archaeological sites and finds

Near Roata De Jos is a Bronze Age settlement belonging to the Tei culture. It is located at the village entrance from the direction of Cartojani. In Cartojani, the archaeological site “La Troiță” is in the village centre. It is also a Bronze Age settlement, but is attributed to the Glina culture. The two names therefore represent different cultural affiliations: Tei at Roata De Jos and Glina at “La Troiță” in Cartojani.

“La Carieră” is another archaeological site in the commune of Roata De Jos and is among the historic monuments of local interest. A different findspot is the cemetery of the Sadina church: ritual objects of the Dacians were recovered there, including a Dacian vessel used for cremation.

Commemoration of the battles of 1916–1918

In the centre of the commune, a monument commemorates 116 local people who died in the battles of 1916–1918 at Mărăști, Mărășești, Oituz and Dragoslavele. The monument was erected in 1936. The sequence of events is clear: it commemorates those who fell in the battles and was erected after the years in which they took place.

For the broader travel overview: Roata De Jos.