#Exhibit of the Month

It is a sports trophy obtained at an inter-school oina (a bat-and-ball game) competition in interwar Bessarabia. We don't know which schools participated in this competition, nor the venue, we only know that one of the winners received the second prize and that the event was held on May 13, 1934. In this way we learn about the existence of different sports competitions organized by schools, including the oina game. Oina is a beautiful and complex sports game that promotes the development of body and spirit, courage and the desire for self-improvement. Oina is a treasure of the Romanian people, which must be sacredly kept and passed on to future generations.

The oină or hoina game is considered a Romanian national sports game having a history of at least six centuries. The oina game is practiced continuously, according to the chronicles and deeds of the time at least from the 14th century, being mentioned for the first time in 1364, during the reign of Vlaicu Vodă. The game requires complex sports qualities (good running speed, fast reflexes in self-defense movements against the balls, accuracy in throwing and hitting the ball with a bat or stick). Oina is a sport that identifies us to the same extent as trânta, our national wrestling. The game becomes attractive among young people in the villages, enters the school curriculum through physical education lessons. Through the Education Reform of 1898, as well as through other ministerial decisions, Education Minister Spiru Haret introduces the compulsory oina lessons in all schools, as well as the annual oina competitions.

On May 9, 1899, in Bucharest, the first national oina championship was organized, the teams being made up of high school students. The winner was the team of Nicolae Bălcescu High School from Brăila.

In 1912, the Federation of the Romanian Sports Society (Bucharest) was created, which consisted of 13 sports commissions including the oina commission.

After the Union of 1918, the Federation of the Romanian Sports Society was reorganized in 1923, including the other oina sports commissions of Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia.

In 1932, the Romanian Oina Federation was founded.

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International Scientific Conference „The Chronology of the Pre-Roman Iron Age and early Roman Age in Central and South-East Europe: Problems and Perspectives”

Chişinău, 8-9 November 2018

The National Museum of History of Moldova in collaboration with the Moldova State University and the Ion Creangă State Pedagogical University with the support of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation organized the international scientific conference The Chronology of the Pre-Roman Iron Age and early Roman Age in Central and South-East Europe: Problems and Perspectives¶.

The event was held from 8 to 9 November 2018 at the National Museum of History of Moldova and the Moldova State University.

The conference was attended by Alexander von Humboldt Foundation scholars, as well as other researchers from Germany, Poland, Romania, Ukraine, Russia, Republic of Moldova, and other countries.

The topic selected for discussion approached one of the many, but very important facets of the history of European Barbaricum in the maturation and flourishing period of Greek-Roman civilization. Remained outside the parameters that define classical antiquity, a large part of the European continent, although it has been, in one way or another, in the orbit of the impulses that came from the world of Greek-Roman civilization, nevertheless had its own development paths. Against the background of complicated processes from the La Tène period and the early Roman Age, determined by multiple human mobility within this world and by important intercalations of Barbaricum with the Greco-Roman world, it has experienced the cultural interference which perception is in strict dependence on the exact determination of chronological references. It is not accidental that this question was given central attention throughout the entire study period of the subject. Beyond the enormous efforts that have been made over the centuries, resulted in important findings, there are many other problems that are just waiting for solutions that archaeologists are looking at with much optimism. In this sense, the optimism of researchers comes to be justified by both the diversification of the methods applied in cutting-edge science (based upon the effervescent evolution of technologies) and by the interdisciplinary character of modern studies. An update and a systematization of the results achieved over recent years, connected to the previous ones, are likely to provide a radiograph of the quality of the situation in the field, defining the momentary problems, but also designing forward-looking solutions.

In this way, the planned conference at Humboldt-Kolleg represented an excellent opportunity for a new round of discussions dedicated to studying Barbaricum archaeology in the La Tène Period and the Early Imperial Roman Period.

For more information: https://www.nationalmuseum.md/en/humboldt_kolleg/