Abstract
Archaeological excavations at Probota Monastery, performed under the supervision of Mrs. Voica Maria Pușcașu, revealed, among others, the vestiges of a building of sizeable proportions (18 × 15 m), located on the South‑Western corner of the precinct, away from the enclosing wall and not right next to it, as it had been customary. The building had at least another floor, accessed via a stairway and a pavilion.
The enclosing wall, together with the entrance tower and the corner towers were erected at Probota in 1550, i.e. several years after the death of the founding prince, Petru Rareș. Then the power was held by lady Elena Branković, prince’s widow, and her son, Ilie, the acting ruler. Lady Elena’s Serbian origins leads one to the idea that the placement of the buildings from the precinct of Probota should be correlated with the placement of the same type of buildings within the royal monasteries from Serbia. There, the residential buildings from the 14th and 15th centuries were placed independently with respect to the enclosing wall, just like the building from Probota, which undoubtedly had the same residential character.
Keywords
Elena Branković, New Probota, Old Probota, Petru Rareș, Serbian model
