The natural defences of a medieval foundation
The monastery occupied firmer ground in a wet landscape. Panait and Turcu’s excavation report describes a low terrace promontory near the meeting of Valea Tânganului and an old channel of the Dâmbovița, with woodland to the north and water or marsh on several sides. Natural barriers formed part of the site’s protection.
A water-filled hollow in today’s Cernica Forest captures the changing interplay of trees, low ground and water characteristic of this landscape.
A shallow, water-filled hollow beneath the trees of Cernica Forest, from a photographic essay on the area's autumn landscape.
Source: Marius Petrini photographic essay
Waterways of the Cernica landscape
Lake Cernica belongs to the modern Colentina water system. Its wooded shores, low banks and quiet expanses of water offer a vivid view of the region’s wetland scenery.
The National Archaeological Repertory records the vanished Tânganu monastery site under Pădurea Tânganu / La Biserică / La Cantoare. Panait and Turcu’s excavation account, together with the site’s archaeological plans, illuminates the earlier waterways and natural setting of the medieval foundation.
Wooded lake shore in the Cernica area, photographed in April 2013. Trees and low banks meet the quiet water.
Photograph: MAVone · 11 April 2013 · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Approaching across land and water
Paul of Aleppo described reaching Tânganu by boat during his visit in 1657. Water shaped the monastery’s approach, isolation and natural protection. The grassy track in the accompanying Cernica landscape photograph offers a view of open ground descending towards the water’s edge.
Photograph: fusion-of-horizons · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons source · Licence
Excavation reports, historical maps and measured site plans help trace the monastery’s changing relationship with the waterways around Tânganu.
A grassy track along the shores of a lake near Cernica, reproduced in a 2012 illustrated archaeological visit.
Source: Cercul de stele