The mysterious rupestral settlements of the Buzău Mountains - the Romanian Athos from the Luana Country

According to legend, all the mountains of Buzău composed, in a remote time, the Luana's Country. Here reigned a wise old king who to defend his kingdom against invaders has built high citadels “up to heaven”. The brave fighters of the citadels, without fear of death, fought against the invaders till the supreme sacrifice and the King Luana heal their wounds with „magic water” taken from the Valley of the Springs. But the end of the battles was dramatic: „the attackers, in chariots of fire, have shot down the Sun of Luana, the Earth was shaken, and the earth's crust has remained desolate”.

In this legendary area there are several cave settlements that served as living quarters or sanctuaries since the oldest times. Around them many legends were born, but also stories about paranormal stories and disappearances, time travel, discoveries of huge bones, etc. On their walls there are Christian and pre-Christian inscriptions, some from very old periods, which have not yet been deciphered. This ensemble of churches, convents, monasteries and hermitages with a strong Christian load, located in the sacred mountains of Buzău is known as the Romanian Athos.

The oldest rupestral settlement from this whole ensemble is the „ Fundul Peşterii” Cave, inhabited before Christianity. Here were discovered the spiritual symbols that would lead back to the late Neolithic. The niche carved on the west wall, resembles a shrine dedicated to Audius (bishop exiled by the Emperor Constantine II) and the Maltese crosses lead back to the centuries IV-VI. Other 200 signs, made by incision or scratch, reveal different shapes of spearheads, arrows, spears, daggers, and other specific signs of prehistoric cave art.  

The Aluniş Church is the most known shrine made of stone, built around 1274 and certified in 1351. Among the cave vestiges there is the Dionysius's Cave, a shelter from the centuries III-IV. The Joseph's Church dug into a huge rock, preserved as before with the entrance in steps which are cut with precision, dated from the centuries III-IV. In this area we can also find many other rocks and stones, loaded by ancient symbols and signs, waiting to be studied, along with the strange entries and underground tunnels.