#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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Chronological Axis

Bronze Age

(early 3rd millennium B.C. – late 2nd millennium B.C.)

The Bronze Age is a cultural and historical period characterized by the appearance and spreading of items made of bronze – the first metal created artificially. In the Carpathian-Dniester area the first bronze objects appear in the early 3^rd millennium B.C., becoming the most widespread to the end of the Age. Along with bronze items, the material culture is also represented by ceramic vessels of different shapes, decorated and plain, and implements made of stone, bone, and horn. Characteristic of this period is the presence of burial mound complexes.

The Bronze Age consists of three stages, each one having the peculiarities of archaeological cultures, which form it.

The Early Bronze Age (middle of 3^rd millennium – early 2^nd millennium B.C.) is represented by the Ochre Graves culture (Yamna culture), the representatives of which are identified with the ancient Indo-Europeans [7]. In this period there are also included the Catacomb Graves culture [1] and the Edinet culture [5, 6]. The material culture of the population is notable for the presence of battle axes with irreproachably processed surfaces [1].

The Middle Bronze Age (early 2^nd millennium – middle of 2^nd millennium B.C.) is represented by the culture of pottery ornamented with many bolsters, of the Eurasian origin, and the Komarov culture [8], the last being a peripheral expression of the Bronze Age cultures from Poland and Western Ukraine.

The Late Bronze Age (middle of 2^nd millennium – late 2^nd millennium B.C.) is characterized by the emergence of the Noua-Sabatinovka-Coslogeni cultural complex, which combined elements of the Eurasian and Carpathian-Balkan origin, including vessels with handles [9]. The representatives of this cultural complex inhabited a vast territory from the North Pontic steppes to the Transylvanian Plateau. These communities were mainly engaged in cattle-breeding. The peculiarity of the Late Bronze Age is the presence of hoards with bronze items. In the Museum collection there are many such unique objects: axes, daggers, sickles, needles, vessels, adornments, and votive items [2, 3, 4].

1.Battle axe-hummer, the Catacomb culture