In Valcea County, close to the road connecting Ramnicu Valcea and Targu Jiu, 8 km far from Horezu, on the land of a small village named Costesti, there are some fascinanting and mysterious stones, called Trovants, which are believed to have a life in them.

The trovants (concretions) are geological phenomena which consist in spherical shapes of cemented sand, appeared due to some powerful seismic activity. The earthquakes that led to the creation of the first trovants are supposed to have taken place 6 million years ago. The stones can also take cilinder and ellipsoidal shapes, in which case they resemble the number 8. Their strangeness comes from the fact that, although they vary in size, from a couple of milimeters to even 10 m, they are very similar, taking into account a natural law that states there are no such things as identical stones. Despite their efforts, the scientists have no logical explanations to a couple of facts: although imperceptible for the human eye, the trovants grow in size after they come into contact with water; their number has increased in time; they have some extensions many consider to be roots; if they are cut, their sections have colored rings, just like trees.

The locals call them ”living stones”, “dorobanti” or “balatruci”. They think these stones are living organisms that grow after it rains, that it is better to speak nicely to them, otherwise you’ll have headaches, or that they are relics of some extraterrestrial civilizations which visited Earth long ago. As a result, the villagers place trovants in their gardens and on the tombs of their loved ones and many tourists didn’t hesitate to steal some from the open air museum that is supposed to preserve them.

The trovants geological phenomena can also be found in other parts of the world, such as Bosnia, Czech Republic, Russia, China, New Zeeland, Canada, USA, Mexico or Costa Rica.

Valcea County is not the only place in Romania where trovants can be found. The Feleac Hill in Cluj-Napoca is the place of a beautiful legend, in which the stones are named “Feleac’s eggs”.

Feleac was a seven headed dragon that lived peacefully in a cave. He didn’t fight the humans, who respected him, gave him food, and came to him to listen to his stories, once a year. The warriors even sought his council, during dangerous times. The only thing Feleac was unhappy about was that he couldn’t have heirs.

One day, he heard a divine bell ringing, but he didn’t see anyone, when he went out of the cave. This happened several times, so he decided to stay outside and secretly watch. He didn’t wait too long and a deer, wearing a necklace of crystal bells, appeared, so Feleac took her in his cave. One day, when he returned from a battle in which he helped some human friends, the deer told him that they meant him harm, as they longed for the treasure he was guarding. She also told him that, soon, his dream of having heirs would fulfill, but he would not get to enjoy it and, in exchange for her release, she would help him. He let her go and, that evening, he saw some sparks at the cave’s bottom and he discovered a couple of dragon eggs. The deer advised him to bury them, because the humans would destroy them, and to leave those lands, passing through a certain valley, in order to escape their trap. He listened to her advice, but he was captured by the humans, he was chained and he died soon after, as his heart could not stand the pain caused by their treachery.

The humans tirelessly sought his treasures, but all they could find were some strange stones, resembling some small dragons during their hatching – they called them Feleac’s eggs, while the valley he was captured was named the Deer Valley (Valea Caprioarelor). In time, they understood that Feleac’s true treasure was the one they had wasted: his friendship.

Author: Iulian Fira

Spread the word about Romania! Share this article and let others know about the experiences Romania has to offer.

Subscribe to Newsletter: