Cetatea Făgăraș – cercetări arheologice pe latura de sud-est a incintei exterioare (clădirea corpului de gardă)
Făgăraș Fortress – Archaeological research in the south-eastern area of the outer ward (the guardhouse)

Summary/Abstract: The fortress of Făgăraș, a historical monument dating, in its current shape, from the 16th–17th centuries, went through a long restoration process over the last half century, during which smaller or greater scale archaeological investigations were conducted. In 2011–2012, the works focused on the eastern side of the outer fortifications, to restore the buildings next to the defensive wall, the so called “guardhouses”. The present paper introduces and describes the archaeological investigation of the southern guardhouse, mainly focusing on the technical aspects of the results and on systemizing the data to retrace the general development of the site. The southern guardhouse stood in 2011 in a shape that was due mainly to a 20th century restoration, one that had greatly modified both the masonry (through underpinning, demolition, and reconstruction) and the ground level, although it was discontinued halfway through. The objective of the archaeological research was primarily to provide the basis for new restoration and refurbishing projects by identifying certain data about the masonry and the history of the ground levels. To achieve this, several small scale research units were opened and three larger trenches (S.22, S.23, and S.24) were dug out between the two defensive walls, providing an overall image of the stratigraphy of the inner courtyard. It was established that the building was initially rectangular, developed along the wall of the outer ward, likely along the entire length of this wall, between the entrance tower and the south eastern bastion – as may be seen, in fact, on the oldest plan of the fortress, drawn in 1699. Later, some extensions and demolitions took place, resulting in the current shape, with rooms of various sizes and a walkway on the side facing the courtyard. The archaeological finds were very poor, and did not help to define a more precise chronology for this part of the fortress – nevertheless, based on historical and architectural data, the building, in its original shape, may be dated to the 16th century.

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