TheIpotești–Cândești culture (Romanian:Cultura Ipotești-Cândești,Ukrainian:культура Іпотешть-Киндешть) was an archaeological culture inEastern Europe. It developed in the mid-6th century by the merger of elements of thePenkovka andPrague-Korchak cultures and local cultures (including Germanic and Roman) in the area betweenPrut andLower Danube.[1][2] It stretched in the Lower Danube over territory in Romania and Moldova.[3] The population of the area was mostly made up ofEarly Slavs.[2] There are views that it derived from theChernyakhov culture and represented a group of theAntes,[3] but also mixed withSclaveni.[2] The houses were identical to the Slavic huts of the Prague-Korchak and Penkovka areas.[4] The sites in Romania are known asIpotești-Candești-Ciurel[5] orIpotești-Ciurel-Cândești.[6]
In terms of distribution of archaeological sites, the vast majority (132 out of 170 in total) associated with Ipotești-Cândești culture are situated betweenArgeș river andBărăgan Plain. The largest density of settlements of this culture was found around what is today the city ofBucharest andIlfov County, with a recorded number of 36 sites in and around the city and an additional 24 sites in the neighboring area ofSnagov. Other areas with significant density are aroundVadu Săpat, nearPrahova river, which contains approximately 31 sites, and a cluster of 24 sites are located nearAlexandria,Teleorman.[7]