#Exhibit of the Month

The grapevine plant, now widespread across the globe, traces its origins back to the Upper Cretaceous geological period, when species of Vitis Linn appeared on Earth (Mesozoic era), followed later by Vitis vinifera L., the latter already classified among cultivated agricultural plants. Most researchers link the origin of the cultivated grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) to the wild forest species Vitis sylvestris Gmel. Thickets of Vitis sylvestris Gmel. can still sporadically be found in the groves along the Prut and Dniester floodplains.

During the Precucuteni III - Trypillia A period (ca. 4750-4600 BC), the presence of cultivated grape seeds was clearly documented on pottery from the settlement of Ruseştii Noi I, layer I, kiln A, consisting of a seed impression on a ceramic fragment, with the elongated beak characteristic of the domesticated species Vitis vinifera L. Another seed impression of Vitis vinifera L. was recorded at the settlement of Vărvăreuca VIII, identified on the wall of a painted vessel from the Cucuteni B - Trypillia CI stage (3800-3500/3300 BC).
In October, on the occasion of the National Wine Day, the National Museum of History of Moldova presents to your attention a unique relic in Southeastern Europe. The exhibit originates from the settlement Brînzeni VIII "Sâiece," belonging to the Cucuteni-Trypillia culture and dated to the Cucuteni AB2 - Trypillia B2 phase (ca. 4050-3800 BC), located in Brînzeni village, Edineț district. The site lies 2 km southwest of the locality, in a triangle formed by the confluence of the Racovăț and Drobiște streams and the local road L36 Bădragii Vechi-Brînzeni. Positioned on land 25-30 meters above the valley, it was discovered in 1966 by archaeologist Nicolaie Chetraru and investigated through excavations between 1978-1980 by Vsevolod Marchevici.
The October exhibit is a grapevine leaf impression discovered in 1980. It comes from pit no. 5, partially investigated, with a maximum depth of 155 cm. From the same archaeological complex near dwelling no. 1, several grape seeds were also recovered, as noted in the excavation report. The grapevine leaf impression appears on a coarse clay lump, fired and vitrified due to secondary burning, reddish in color, with an irregular rectangular, flattened shape. The outer surface is uneven and rough. The impression surface is smoothed, with the leaf veins clearly highlighted. Measuring 99 mm in length, 110 mm in width, and 28-31 mm in thickness, the exhibit presents in full splendor an authentic grapevine leaf impression. Some researchers attribute it to the domesticated grapevine Vitis vinifera L., while others, more skeptical, consider it a wild species. Nevertheless, being discovered in a well-documented archaeological context, together with grape seeds near a dwelling, it provides evidence that grapevine was part of Cucuteni community life 6,000 years ago. These findings allow us to affirm that the process of domestication and the creation of table grapes was already underway. The diversity of Cucuteni ceramic forms, as well as the painting on some vessels, undoubtedly suggests their use as containers for various liquids. Accordingly, the emergence of wine among Cucuteni communities can be taken into consideration.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

“Science and Society in Bessarabia of the Modern Times”

(April 30 – October 1, 2010)

The exhibition is organized in partnership with the National Museum of Ethnography and Natural History, the National Library, and the Museum of Romanian Literature. The exhibition aims to familiarize the public with the history of science in Bessarabia in the modern times. For the first time there were combined and exhibited the most important museum collections reflecting the works and daily activity of Bessarabian scientists (documents, books, photographs, personal things, awards, etc.) Having been organized for familiarization of cultural and scientific values kept in different collections, the exhibition also has some collateral objectives:

-   making-up of estimative/evaluative inventory of the museum collections in the field of “the development of science” in Bessarabia in the 19th – early 20th centuries;

-   reconstruction of some exhibition segments presenting the evidences of the place and role of science in the development of Bessarabian society.

   Due to these 222 exhibits the visitors can discover a significant chapter in the history of the Bessarabian science in the modern times. The exhibition includes items which belonged to Alexandru Sturdza, Alexandru Hajdau, Costache Stamati, Alexis Nacu, Stefan Margela, Iacob Hancu, Bogdan P.Hasdeu, Polihronie Sircu, Alexander Yatsimirsky, Leon Casso, Arseny Stadnitsky, Zamfir Arbore, Ion Surucean, Axente Fruna. Being an expression of the creative power of several generation of the Bessarabians for more than a century, these valuable items (studies and research monographs, journals, annals of scientific societies, manuals) constitute an evidence of a great cultural raising in Bessarabia under the influence of Russian culture (after 1812). In a whole, the exhibits are an expression of a message through the works of high culture – the message of the resistance and victory of the Bessarabian Romanians in the time of the foreign domination.

   Scientific life in Bessarabia in the first half of the 19th century is presented in the exhibition through the activity of some scientific societies which had their headquarters in Odessa (Bessarabia was the administrative authority of the Governor-General of New Russia):

- The Imperial Agricultural Society of South Russa (1828) (the Bessarabian A. Sturdza was one of its establishers and its vice-president between 1833 – 1847);

- The Odessa Society of History and Antiquities (1839). In the journal of this society there were published many works written in the first half of the 19th century by the Bessarabians: Alexander Sturdza, Costache Stamati, Alexis Nacu, Carol and Matei Cotruta, Ion Surucean and others.

In the exhibition there are used a series of works written by foreign authors during the 19th century. These works constitute an impressive part of scientific research carried out by the imperial order in and about Bessarabia (A. Egunov, L. Berg, A. Zashchuk, P. Batyushkov, etc.). Simultaneously, there are exhibited works of Bessarabian authors, which were written or published in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, Bucharest (Stefan Margela, Iacob Hancu, Polihronie Sircu, Alexander Yatsimirsky, Leon Casso, Arseny Stadnitsky, Zamfir Arbore, etc). By the end of the 19th century the historical investigations carried out by several generations of Bessarabians resulted in delineation of research priorities:

-   Ion Surucean has laid the foundations of local epigraphy
-   Ion Halippa is the founder of local archive studies
-   A. Yatsivirsky and Polihronie Sircu are the founders of Bessarabian Slavic studies.
In the late 19th – early 20th centuries in Bessarabia there is a tendency of association in societies and scientific organizations. Their activities also are reflected in the exhibition:
-   Scientific Commission for Archives from Bessarabia (1898)
-   Historical and Archaeological Church Society (1904)
-   Society of Naturalists (1904), an exemplary centre of high scientific and practical organization in the field of agricultural research. Its activity is directly related to the establishment an activity of the Zemstvo Museum (collection of documents, photographs, entomological and ornithological exhibits). The work of the society is in line with local tradition in the field: College of Horticulture (1842) was the first agricultural research centre in Bessarabia (N. Mogilyansky, N. Zubovsky, N. Dimo, M. Pautynsky, P. Ungureanu).

Finally, in the exhibition there are presented a series of publications from 1912, original scientific papers, which are a national treasure (albums, calendars, studies, etc.). On the walls of the exhibition room there are photographs of the universities from St. Petersburg, Sorbonne, and Odessa; statutes of the scientific societies; a gallery of portraits of scientists from Bessarabia.

-Nicolai Dimo (in center) in his laboratory-