#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.

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Events Archive

Roundtable “Holocaust, hunger and deportations - crimes of the twentieth century”

25 January 2017

On 25 January 2017, the National Museum of History of Moldova in cooperation with "Ion Creanga" Lyceum organized a roundtable on "Holocaust, hunger and deportations - crimes of the twentieth century".

The roundtable discussions were attended by dr. Aurelia Felea, dr. Viorica Olaru-Cemârtan and PhD student Mariana Fabian, students from "Ion Creanga" Lyceum, teachers, specialists. The event was moderated by dr. Mariana Ţăranu.
At the meeting were discussed various aspects of Romanian Holocaust, reflection of Holocaust in artistic films from the MSSR. The speakers presented film fragments which were commented afterwards. This topic caused intense and contradictory discussions.

Special attention was drawn to the famine organized by the Soviets in Bessarabia and its consequences, in particular the focus was placed on famine impact on the community. The materials presented were supported by factual data, interviews and photos.

The fate of the Bessarabian Romanians in the Stalinist Gulag was reflected based on case studies and archival material. Life of the descendants of deported families in 1941 and 1949, which remained in Siberia, their occupations and ways of integration into the Siberian social environment was presented by a documentary film made in the project "Expeditions of memory". Dr. Viorica Olaru-Cemârtan, member of the project, made several comments and clarifications.

At the roundtable was presented a book exhibition.