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#Exhibit of the Month

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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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Publications Journal „Tyragetia"   vol. X [XXV], nr. 2


Dimitrie Cantemir's posthumous mystery
ISSN 1857-0240
E-ISSN 2537-6330

Dimitrie Cantemir's posthumous mystery

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie

Keywords: Dimitrie Cantemir, Edmond Ciuntu, Mikhail Ostrovsky, Ion Dic, the Greek Monastery of St. Nicholas, the People's Commissariat of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, Moscow, Romania.

Abstract: Frequently not only lifetime, but the posthumous biography of any historical figure becomes overgrown by numerous myths, legends and mysteries. The biography of the outstanding thinker of the first quarter of the 18th century, the Moldavian ruler Dimitrie Cantemir was no exception.

The current publication is dedicated to the research of one of the least developed areas of Cantemirology - the study of the authenticity of the Moldavian prince's remains, which were transferred by the USSR Government to Romania and reburied in Iași in June 1935.

On the basis of numerous archival documents taken from the archives of the ministries of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and Romania, for the first time introduced into the scientific use, the author convincingly and gravely substantiates a version that that the transferred remains do not belong to Dimitrie Cantemir.

List of illustrations:
Fig. 1. Nicolae Iorga, Nicolae Titulescu and the members of the governmental commission meet the coffin with the remains of D. Cantemir. Constanța, June 1935.
Fig. 2. The letter of thanks signed by N. Titulescu, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Romania, addressed to M. Ostrosky, the Ambassador of the Soviet Union in Romania, in connection with the transfer of the remains of Dimitrie Cantemir.
Fig. 3. Project of the building of the People's Commissariat for Heavy Industry. Authors: A. Vesnin, V. Vesnin, S. Lyashenko. 1934.
Fig. 4. Project of the building of the People's Commissariat for Heavy Industry. Authors: I. Fomin, P. Abrosimov, M. Minkus. 1934.

Виктор Цвиркун
Unknown pages of the biography of C.A. Cantemir
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIII [XXVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Victor Țvircun
Unknown pages from the biography of Ivan Ilyinsky-Yaroslavets, secretary of Dimitrie Cantemir
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XVII [XXXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Виктор Цвиркун
Anna Cantacuzino-Sheremeteva: Unknown pages of biography
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XV [XXX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie



 

 

Independent Moldova
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
Bessarabia and MASSR between the Two World Wars
Bessarabia and Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Period between the Two World Wars
Revival of National Movement
Time of Reforms and their Consequences
Abolition of Autonomy. Bessarabia – a New Tsarist Colony
Period of Relative Autonomy of Bessarabia within the Russian Empire
Phanariot Regime
Golden Age of the Romanian Culture
Struggle for Maintaining of Independence of Moldova
Formation of Independent Medieval State of Moldova
Era of the
Great Nomad Migrations
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Bronze Age
Aeneolithic Age
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#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)...

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC