Polygonal Sheepfold, Ludeştii de Sus, Hunedoara County

This type of polygonal sheepfold, with nine sides, could be seen in great numbers on the peaks of the hills very close to the Dacian citadels even up until the Second World War. Such polygonal sheepfolds spread from the Luncani Plateau to the Sebeş River valley. Their documentary and historical value is very high to the technical solutions employed in their construction. They are extremely efficiently constructed with very little material and effort. These sheep-folds followed Dacian construction techniqes using intersecting beams to make up nine sides, a conical roof made of fir beams that is covered with fir shingles, and a wooden cross with a treble function used as a keystone.
The cross serves as a joining point, a „hat” for protecting the peak of the building against rain, and finally as symbol of the Christian belief in protecting the sheepfold against dark spirits.
This sheepfold belonged to the Rujois family living in the hamlet of Ludeştii de Sus.
Because of the great distance to the village church (the sheepfold is situated at 1,000 meters of altitude on the Welders' Hill, a three hour hike from the foot of the mountain), the family graves are located in the vicinity of the sheepfold, a common practice in the Western part of the Meridionali Mountains, reminding us of the famous theme of Mioriţa, the Romanian shepherd's ballad.