In Teleorman, as on the entire Danube line, moreover, the main construction material was earth, used in the form of "tiles", but especially earth beaten into formwork. Roma houses were no exception, being built from the same materials and using the same construction technique. Similarities also existed within an older form of housing, namely the semi-buried house, which was used by both Romanian and Roma families, one of the important differences being reflected in the plan of the house.
The bordeiul is described by the interviewed Roma as a hole dug in the ground, about 4-5 m long, 3 m wide and 2 m high, covered with a skeleton of straight or curved sticks, insulated with a "blanket" of reeds or , sometimes with a thick cloth, also used to cover carts. The interior was more modest than that of brothels inhabited by Romanians, the domestic activity being organized in a single-cell space and lacking the insulation provided by lining the walls with wooden beams. The entrance to the barn was made on earthen steps, dug on the front side, the interior being lit with gas lamps. A round, low table dominated the room, around which sat all members of the family seated in Turkish style (Sali Mircea).
At the time of sedentarization, they built their surface houses, following the same traditional zonal technique, the exceptions being perceived less in the plan of the house and more in the interior design. The masonry of the houses was made of rammed earth... As the wall rose and dried, the formwork was removed and repositioned, an operation that was repeated until the wall reached a height of about 2 - 2.20m. In the houses of the Romanians, it was customary for the upper part of the wall, after it reached 1.70 - 1.80 m high, to be completed with 3-4 rows of unburnt bricks (bricks). The frame, made of resinous wood, was initially covered with reeds, then with tin or tiles. After the covering was ready, the carpentry elements - the doors and windows - were mounted. The ceiling was made of reeds or other reeds stuck under the beams, the upper part (podina) being covered with a 3-4cm thick layer of ciarum. The exterior was rarely plastered in the old houses of the Roma, the artistic treatment of the house facades not constituting a defining element in the popular architecture of this area.
Abandoned rum house in Conțesti commune
Another abandoned rum house in Conțesti commune
The houses built by the Roma, after their settlement in the hearth of the village, had two rooms, rarely three, usually a bedroom and a tent used in winter as a kitchen. The beds were also made of earth, covered with mats, and the heating systems used earth for construction, either alone or in combination with reed reinforcement. The fuel used to heat the house or to prepare food consisted of vegetable and cereal residues, such as straw, coccineal leaves, sprouting sticks, twigs and dry leaves, rarely firewood. Mr. Sali Mircea's description corresponds to the Roma houses now in disrepair at the edge of the village. With this type of home there was no problem of fencing.
As the living conditions have improved, the architecture of the Roma houses blends more and more with the general appearance of the houses in this area. Traditional building materials are replaced by prefabricated or materials that do not require subsequent repairs, repeated annually (cement, thermal insulation, glazing, galvanized sheet, etc.), and the interior space is increased both vertically, where the ceiling is raised by about 30-40 cm, as well as horizontally, in the plan of the house adding new rooms. The partition walls are thickened with another row of brick to incorporate the "ground" stoves, made of terracotta, whose "fireplaces" are oriented towards the awning or the cooking room. Only the walls, mats and blankets are the ones that still remind of the past, while the furniture, lighting systems and appliances bring the minimum comfort needed today.
The old heating system of a spoitor rum house in Conțești commune (1)
The old heating system of a spoitor rum house in Conțești commune (2)
The rammed earth bed of a rum house in Conțesti commune
Wall, floor and ceiling construction technique (Com. Conțești)
The interior of the house of the craftsman Sali Mircea from Conțești
