Emperor Constantine the Great, the Gots became citizens of the Roman Empire; consequently, Constantine the Great took control of a significant part of the former Dacia. During the same period, some of the Romans in the former Roman province of Dacia became Christians (Moga 1974, 259–266). Christianity played a significant role not only in maintaining Roman influence north of the Danube but also in assimilating newcomers. A time of unrest ensued, during which many different migrating peoples penetrated Romania’s territory from the east, north, and west. Some of them crossed the Danube into the Roman Empire; others settled in the lowlands for some time, a few of them going into Transylvania. One of these invading groups was the Huns, who in ca. 375 or 376 a.d. exterminated the Sântana-Cerneahov culture in Romania. However, in turn, the Roman Empire defeated the Huns and took control of lands north of the Danube, establishing camps along the river.

The Gepids invaded northwestern Romania and destroyed the surviving Roman centers in the area. To escape these conquerors, some of the local people crossed the Carpathian mountains to Moldavia and Muntenia. The Gepids coexisted with the remaining natives (Horedt 1975, 111–122), sharing the settlements and burial grounds. The two communities were distinguished from one another by dwelling type and funeral rituals. The settlement at Moreşti, in Transylvania, is one example of a Gepid settlement. It contained shared burial grounds and earthen huts surrounded by a defense wall and a ditch. Also dating back to this period are several Christian basilicas in Dobroudja, Oltenia, and Transylvania. The Christian influence in Dacia can be traced through Latin Christian terminology preserved in the Romanian language. In the year 568, the Avars invaded western Romania and took political power from the Gepids (Comşa, M. 1987, 219–230; Rusu 1975, 123–154).

The first known populations of Slavs appeared in southern Romania around 527 a.d., with other Slavic groups following until about 680 a.d. (Comşa, M. 1975, 171–200; Nestor 1973, 29–33; Rusa 1975, 123–154; Teodor 1975, 155–170). By the end of the sixth century a.d. in Muntenia, the valleys of the Dâmboviţa and Lower Argeş rivers were shared by Romanic and Slavic populations under rulers such as Dauridas, Ardogast, and Piragast, along with Mosikios, chieftain of the area along the river Buzău. The Suceava “Sipot,” a settlement consisting of rectangular earthen huts containing hearths bordered with stone, is the earliest Slavic complex discovered by archaeologists. Handmade ceramics and jewelry were found there, including digitated fibula dating to the eighth century (Matei 1960, 374–394). The burial ground at Sărata Monteoru (Buzău County), comprising over 1500 cremation burial sites, was also a significant discovery. Human ashes were placed either in a pit or in an urn, with burial inventories of digitated fibulae, beads, jewels, knives, and flint tools (Nestor and Zaharia 1961, 513–515). The existence of a Slavic group in northwestern Romania during the eighth and ninth centuries a.d. is indicated by the cemeteries at Nuşfalău and Someşeni, characterized by tumuli cremation burials. The burial grounds at Nuşfalău held wooden tombs where ashes were stored with funeral inventory such as pottery, wooden pails, knives, and jewelry. Taking into account the types of vessels and the burial inventory, these complexes were connected with the western Slavs. Some necropolises in Dobroudja, such as Castelu and Satu Nou, held ashes in urns, some bordered with stone slabs forming a cist, a practice that connects the population with the southern Slavs. Slavs came into contact with the native population of the former Dacia and in time were assimilated into a population that shared the Romanic language (Comşa, M. 1975, 171–200).

The continuity of the Romanic population from the end of the seventh century through the tenth century a.d. is evidenced by types of dwellings, pottery thrown on wheels, and styles of jewelry. South of the Carpathian mountains at Cândeşti, Ciurel, and Ipoteşti, autochthonous settlements that came under Romano-Byzantine influence have been discovered by archaeologists. These populations practiced agriculture, cattle and sheep breeding, and in certain regions, viticulture and arboriculture. Many agricultural terms of Latin origin were preserved in