#Exhibit of the Month

The artifact is a battle axe made from magmatic rock (diabase) of gray-brown color. It was accidentally discovered in 1966 within the territory of Aluniș village, Rîșcani district. Based on its morphological characteristics, the artifact can be attributed to the Catacomb culture (29th-22nd centuries BCE).

The axe features a massive, elongated naviform body with slightly pronounced shoulders, a short and narrow edge that is flat and circular in cross-section. The blade is slightly curved. The hole was drilled in the maximum width of the object. It is circular in shape with a diameter of 2.2 cm. The surface of the artifact is meticulously polished, worked with great care, and shows no signs of damage or chipping.

Dimensions: Length: 20.0 cm; Maximum width: 8.4 cm; Edge diameter: 5.0 cm; Blade width: 7.0 cm; Weight: 2.3 kg.

Stone battle axes are characteristic of the Catacomb culture communities and are most often found as grave goods, deposited in tombs. Their presence in funerary complexes suggests a multifaceted functionality: weapons, social symbols, and ritual objects. Initially used as weapons, the axes became social symbols for their owners, later acquiring votive significance when deposited in tombs to serve the deceased in the afterlife.

The social symbolic function of stone battle axes is indicated by the high-quality rocks used for their manufacture and the exceptionally meticulous craftsmanship. The large dimensions of the axe from Aluniș support this hypothesis and distinguish it from other examples.

The discovery of stone battle axes outside a funerary complex may indicate their votive deposition. It is difficult to imagine that these exceptionally well-crafted pieces, made from high-quality rocks transported over great distances, could have been abandoned or lost accidentally. It is far more likely that they were deposited for magical-religious purposes, a possibility that may also apply to the stone axe discovered at Aluniș.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

„Memory Captured in Postcards”

April 6 - May 20, 2013

In the upstairs hall of the National Museum of History of Moldova there was open a temporary exhibition Memory Captured in Postcards dedicated to the International Day for Monuments and Sites that is celebrating annually on 18 April.

The exhibition was organized by the Modern History Department and aims to acquaint visitors with the diversity of national heritage and to awaken their interest to the monuments and respect for history. The exhibition warns of the danger in which there are some monuments and calls for their protection and conservation.

The core of the exhibition is illustrated postcards from the collections of the museum; it consists of 275 images covering the period from the late 19^th century to 2011.

The exhibition structure is divided into two compartments:

The first includes postcards illustrating the historical monuments of Bessarabia, including those of Chisinau, in the period from the late 19^th century to 1940s. By means of the postcards visitors will "travel" through time, admiring the central avenue of the city and architecture of buildings and recreational facilities.

The second compartment includes postcards with the images of monuments today. There are presented pictures that reflect the history of the Republic of Moldova from 1980s to the present. Along with images of old monuments preserved to this day, there are given images of buildings, which are the symbols of the Republic of Moldova: the Presidency, Parliament, Government House, City Hall, etc. A special place there is occupied by picture postcards with the buildings of institutions of culture and art, monuments and statues, churches and monasteries, museums of natural history in the area between the Prut and Dniester.

The postcards are accompanied by a mini-collection of wall and floor clocks that symbolize the time that erases..., but also retains.