The interpretation of the ethnic situation in Wallachia during the 3rd and 4th centuries A.D., relying mostly on the linking of three "archaeological cultures" ( Chilia-Militari, Sarmatian and Cernjachov ( with ethnic units mentioned by the ancient sources, has been influenced by questionable assumptions on the nature of ethnic identity and its expression in material culture, like that on the "conservative" character of the burial customs, or that on the identity between "archaeological cultures" and ethnic units. The effect of these assumptions on the interpretation will be assessed, using the latest review of the archaeological finds and a new look at the nature and localization of the ethnic units mentioned by the written sources.