#Exhibit of the Month

This clay vessel was discovered in 1982 by archaeologist V. Sorochin during excavations of a burial mound (no. 1) located in the village of Speia, Dubăsari District. It originates from grave no. 5 and is dated to the 4th millennium BC, belonging to the Usatovo culture.
The vessel was found in a child's grave. The burial pit had an oval shape, and the deceased was laid in a crouched position (similar to the fetal posture), on the left side. A total of five vessels were uncovered in this grave: three near the back, one at the feet, and one in the pelvic area.
The cultural attribution of this funerary complex was determined based on the burial rite and grave goods. This culture is characterized by the specific construction of the burial pit, as well as the positioning and orientation of the deceased toward the east and northeast.

The vessel is shaped from clay mixed with finely crushed shell. Its walls curve gradually toward the top, with the widest diameter at the shoulder area. It has a short neck, a slightly flared rim, and a flat base. The surface is carefully polished, in some areas to a lustrous finish. The interior is reddish-brown, while the exterior is yellowish-brown with gray spots. The rim features groups of perforations, three of which are preserved in their original state. The diameter of the holes is 0.35 cm. The space between the groups of perforations is decorated with cord impressions. The transition from the neck to the shoulder is adorned with three horizontal lines made with cord, from which, in five places, three vertical lines descend, each 5 cm long, executed using the same technique. At the time of discovery, these lines were filled with a white paste. The space between the groups of lines is decorated at the top with short vertical lines (0.5 cm long), and in the center with a meander ornament made of two parallel lines impressed with cord. The base of the vessel retains the imprint of a textile.
Vessel dimensions: Height: 22 cm; Rim diameter: 15.7 cm; Maximum diameter: 22 cm; Base diameter: 10 cm.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

“Childhood in the Gulag”

The Memorial of Revolution in Timișoara

April 21 – May 18, 2023

On April 21, 2023, at the invitation of colleagues from the Memorial of Revolution in Timișoara (Romania), took place the vernissage "Childhood in the Gulag" (curator Ludmila D. Cojocaru), organized within the National Cultural Program "Timișoara - European Capital of Cultures in the year 2023".

The exhibition presents photo-documentary images about the life of Bessarabian children condemned by the totalitarian-communist regime of the Moldavian SSR to deportation, starvation, Russification, indoctrination, forced excision from their own families, during the years 1940-1941 and 1944-1953.

The exhibition approach brings together about 180 photo-documentary images, accompanied by memories and archival documents from the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova, the Edineț County Museum, the Museum of History and Ethnography from Soroca, the INIS ProMemoria Archive of the MSU, as well as from the archives of the communities memory and of the survivors of the totalitarian-communist regime in the Moldavian SSR.

The Opening started by the presentation of the Director of the Memorial of Revolution in Timișoara, Mr. Gino Rado, who mentioned the importance of carrying out joint cultural projects on historical knowledge regarding the phenomenon of totalitarianism, on both banks of the Prut River. The concept of the exhibition was presented by Dr. Ludmila D. Cojocaru and Dr. Virgiliu Bîrlădeanu, relating on the actuality of the recovering, documentation and historical investigation of the testimonies of the victims of the totalitarian-communist regime in Bessarabia. In his speech, Mr. Cosmin A. Tabără, the deputy mayor of Timișoara, reiterated the existence of dramatic pages of common history, on which we have the duty to reflect in order not to allow their repetition.

The opening of the photo-documentary exhibition "Childhood in the Gulag" at the Memorial of Revolution in Timișoara is a tribute to the memory of children who went through the atrocities of the totalitarian communist regime in the USSR, as well as a commemoration of the recent victims among children in the context of the Russian Federation war on the territory of Ukraine.

The photo-documentary exhibition "Childhood in the Gulag" can be visited between April 21 and May 18, 2023, at the headquarters of the Memorial of Revolution in Timișoara (str. Oituz, no. 2B, Timișoara municipality, Romania).

#Exhibit of the Month

Clay Vessel discovered in Speia Village, Dubăsari District

“Childhood in the Gulag”

The Memorial of Revolution in Timișoara

April 21 – May 18, 2023

#Exhibit of the Month