The exposed object, an "askos" type ceramic vessel, comes from the tumulus necropolis near the village of Ciumai, Taraclia district. The vessel was discovered in 2015 in a cenotaph tomb attributed to the Jamnaja culture, dated to the early Bronze Age (ca. 3300-2600 BC).
The vessel, with an obviously asymmetrical configuration, is hand-moulded from quality clay paste, having a smooth brown surface with gray spots. The body of the vessel is provided with a pronounced protrusion and a truncated neck with a wider opening towards the mouth. The vessel has a stem and is ornamented with three pairs of symmetrically placed relief appliqués. The height of the bowl is 15.5 cm, the diameter of the mouth is 11.4 cm, the diameter of the body is 15 cm and the diameter of the base is 7.5 cm. Such vessels in the archaeological literature are known as "askos" vessels, the respective term being of ancient Greek origin, denoting one of the primitive containers of the period - the bellows made of animal skin.
In prehistoric times, among some peoples, the bellows was transposed into ceramics, in these cases the basic features of the archaic leather vessel were preserved, acquiring a prominent convex shape with a stem and a flat bottom. From the original appearance of the bellows, the asymmetric mouth corresponding to the animal's neck has been preserved, and sometimes three or four legs, corresponding to the appendages of the flayed skin from the animal's legs. These vessels have lost their original zoomorphic character, entering as a new form in the inventory of Neo-Eneolithic ceramics. The first vessels of this type are attested in Greece, in the early Neolithic (ca. 5000-4500 BC) having the shape of cups or cups. In the Neo-Eneolithic Carpatho-Balkan cultures, the type of Aegean askos of short or tall form, with or without legs and with a handle, is found. Less often, they are provided with two mouths (one for filling and one for emptying) or they are off-center and provided with strangely shaped mouths. In the space between the Carpathians and the Dnieper, only tall forms of simple askos, without zoomorphic elements, are known. Askos-type vessels are present in various prehistoric cultures, especially in Southeast Europe and Anatolia.
Being often discovered in association with cult inventory, askos vessels could be an important indicator of use in religious ritual practices. Along with the zoomorphic, anthropomorphic and rhyton-type vessels (roughly conical container from which, in some ceremonies, liquids were drunk or poured), the askos were included in the category of vessels intended for worship, being related to libations (ritual act that consisted of tasting and then pouring a cup of wine, milk, etc. as homage to the deity).
Anuarul Muzeului Național de Istorie a Moldovei, nr. II
Chișinău, 1995
I. Studii
• Nicolae Răileanu,Din istoria muzeului Regional al Basarabiei • Grigore Jitaru, Blazonul Basarabilor. Secolul XIV • A.I. Sâci, Imigrația românească în Canada, anii 1900-1939 • Grigore Bârsa, Narodnicismul lui C. Stere: între real și ipoteze • Jipa Rotaru, Primele unități militare Naționale Basarabene în slujba unirii cu România • lohan Engstrom, The Caroline Army
II. Istorie veche și arheologie
• Nicolae Chetraru, Contribuții la cunoașterea paleoliticului inferior în Moldova • Nicolae Chetraru, Bobulesti VI - o stațiune de la începutul paleoliticului superior în Moldova • Ilie Borziac, Podgori I - o nouă stațiune pluristratigrafică din paleolitul superior în bazinul Nistrului Mijlociu • Natalia Golțeva, Considerații preliminare asupra stratigrafiei cultural-cronologice a cetățuei Hlinjeni II • Natalia Golțeva, Toporul de piatră de la Şoldănești • Natalia Mateevici, Toarte de amfore ștampilate în fondurile Muzeului
III. Istorie
• Vlad D. Ghimpu, O ctitorie domnească în Basarabia: mănăstirea Căpriana • Mihai Onilă, File din istoria bisericii «Intrarea în biserica» din satul Râșcova, secolul XVIII • Valeriu Bucarschi, O hartă a Moldovei din secolul XVIII • Maria Hasnaș, Kazimiriștii în Basarabia • Elena Ploșnița, Aspecte privind dezvoltarea presei de limbă în Basarabia • Alexandru Roman, Rolul academicianului Dmitrie Onciul în istoria arhivelor din Basarabia • И.В. Жалоба,Буковинский сплав леса Прутом и его притоками в XIX - начале XX вв. • Irina Gonciarova, Arhitectul basarabean Cristofor Nicolaidi • Antonina Cracan, Cantacuzinii în Basarabia. File istorice • Maria Pripa, Din tezaurul spiritual al neamului. M.Berezovschi • Aurelia Cornețchi, Liceul de fete din Comrat • О.Ю. Щипакина, Коллективизация в СССР и ее последствия для Автономной Республики Молдавии • Elvira Vacula, Aspecte din activitatea societăților de binefacere din Basarabia • Nadejda Lavric, Din amintirile ostașilor basarabeni din armata română • Д.А. Крупейников, Молдаване - Герои Советского Союза • Ala Robu, Represiile - mijloc de menținere a sistemului administrativ de comandă • И.Ф. Рыжова, Раскулачивание 1949 года в Молдавии • Л.И. Пасиковская,Операция «Север» • Vera Belous, Deportați din motive politice • Elena Postică, File din istoria mișcării de eliberare Națională din Basarabia în anii postbelici • Ю.А. Марчук, Из истории балканских войн 1871-1878 годов
IV. Muzeografie și arhivistică
• Mustafa ali Mehmed, Jipa Rotaru, Ion Deboveanu, Principatele Române în vâltoarea preliminărilor păcii Ruso-Turce de la București din 29 mai 1812
V. Recenzii
• Ilie Borziac, Nicolae Chetraru, Alexandru Păunescu. Ripiceni-Izvor. Paleolitic și mezolitic. Studiu monografic. București, 1993
The exposed object, an "askos" type ceramic vessel, comes from the tumulus necropolis near the village of Ciumai, Taraclia district. The vessel was discovered in 2015 in a cenotaph tomb attributed to the Jamnaja culture, dated to the early Bronze Age (ca. 3300-2600 BC)...
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.
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.
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.