In the fall of 2024, field research was conducted at the archaeological objective Ecaterinovca-Ialpugeni-Valea Jeparului. The site was discovered in 2016 and represents a settlement with traces of habitation dating from the period of the Goth migration (4th century AD) and the Late Middle Ages (18th century).
It is located on the Jeparului Valley, also known as Ecaterinovca Valley, at the border of the Ecaterinovca and Ialpugeni villages.
The specificity of the settlement lies in its extension both north and south of Valul lui Traian de Sus, being, so far, the only known settlement that overlaps this linear fortification.
During the archaeological survey, at a depth of 0.7 m from the current ground surface, the mouth of the VTS trench was identified, with a width of 6.1 m. The bottom of the trench was found to be about 2.85 m below the current level of the present level of the earthwork, and its width at the base is 2.4 m. The trench profile of the linear fortification is roughly trapezoidal, according to the National Archaeological Agency.
National Archaeological Agency: Particularly valuable for dating the complex are the pottery sherds discovered in the lower part of the trench, belonging to both locally produced and imported pottery, attributed to the Sântana de Mureș-Cerneahov culture.
On the basis of this stratigraphic information and archaeological materials, it is estimated that the development of the valley and the moat of the linear fortification was realized at the latest during the period of the Goths’ migration to the northern Danubian regions (second half of the 3rd-4th century AD).
Archaeological data on this research was recently presented at the National Archaeological Reporting Session, Campaign 2024.
Valul lui Traian is an archaeological monument (2nd century AD) of international importance, located at the exit of the village of Vadul lui Isac. It is 126 km long and stretches from the village of Vadul lui Isac to the or. Tatarbunar on Ukrainian territory. The wave height does not exceed 1.5-3 m.
The historical monument Trajan’s Valley is a fortification from the late ancient period, first documented on March 13, 1489. The valleys are located in the southern part of Moldavia and constitute 2 main ramifications: “from below” and “from above”.
The “lower” one is 126 km long and stretches from the village of Vadul lui Isac to the town of Tatarbunar on Ukrainian territory. The “upper” one is 138 km long and runs from the small town of Leova in the west to the village of Copanca near Chitcani in the east, and in Cimislia district around the villages of Pervomaisc, Grădiște, Coștangalia and Satul Nou.
Scientists identify three stretches of the Lower Trajan Valley. The first is 34 km, from the village of Vadul-lui-Isac to the village of Tabacu near Lake Ialpug. This stretch is characterized by the existence of a berm (a flat area between the wave and the ditch), which has been carefully laid out and has been best preserved.
The second section of the wave is located between Ialpug and Catlabuga lakes. It differs from the first only by the absence of the berm. Finally, the third section, between the Catlabuga and Sasâc lakes, was raised relatively carelessly.
The care with which the first section (the one starting at Vadul-lui-Isac) was built can be explained by the fact that this region was the most dangerous of the three, being an important strategic area near the Danube crossing. In addition, the section starting at Vadul-lui-Isac is supposed to have been the first of the three to have been raised.
In the hope that Valul lui Traian de Jos will gain the tourist importance it deserves, we urge you to visit it near the village Vadul-lui-Isac in the Lower Prut valley.