The Romanian Carpathians are well known for the intensity of the pastoral life (Vuia 1964) and the commitment of the Romanians to this branch of farming ties up with the tradition of Dacian occupation of the high ground. This may give rise to exaggerated claims for permanent occupation well above the present levels of permanent settlement, but it certainly provides the basis for the colonisation of the more northerly parts of the Carpathians by 'Wallachian shepherds' who may provide an origin for the Lemko/Rusyn minorities in parts of Poland, Slovakia and Ukraine (Turnock 2003). Individual localities provide their own peculiar testimonies to a traditional mountain economy which is by no means eclipsed by the modernisation and diversification of the past century. However Mărginimea Sibiului offers particular attractions for a local study given the almost unique intensity of the pastoral life in this area, noticed by Emm. de Martonne and especially by L.Someşan: this certainly applied historically but still remains relevant today given the extent of the mountain pastures; while the retention of long-wave transhumance systems continued in the westernmost part of the area until very recently (Plates 1-2). The district comprises a cluster of localities at the contact of the Cindrel and Lotru Mountains with the Sibiu-Apold Depression. However while several settlements do lie right on the contact at 550-600m, four (Galeş, Râu Sadului, Rod and Tilişca) are situated in valleys at 600-750m (Plates 3-4) and another two (Jina and Poiana Sibiului) are 'sate de culme' lying even higher up (750-950m) on the gentlysloping 'Gornoviţa surface': the lowest of three peneplains (Plate 5). Here -as the saying goes -there is much sunshine and little snow compared with the valleys; although windbreaks are needed (hence the farmhouses have large courtyards into which carts can be driven) and the lack of water calls for storage tanks as well as the pumping of groundwater. The paper is primarily a work in settlement history but it also has an ecological content relating to the peneplains and the conservation of grasslands with high nature value (Jones 2007).
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