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.
Fortifications of the Early Iron Age settlement Saharna Mare
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Today over 82 Iron Age monuments are known in the area of the Middle Dniester, Central Moldavian Hills. The most impressive monuments are situated on high promontories and heights close to Saharna village, Republic of Moldova. These sites of ancient settlements and villages are known since the end of the 40s of the 20th c., when G.D. Smirnov carried out the first reconnaissance excavations. Saharna Mare settlement stands out among these monuments. Since 2001 systematic archeological research has been carried out on the site. Saharna Mare is situated on a high stony triangular promontory surrounded from all sides by deep inaccessible ravines. The promontory is accessible only from the South. Archeological research proves that the site was populated as early as the Early Iron Age when a Hallstatt settlement of Saharna-Solonceni type was founded there. Consequently the promontory was fortified in the south by a complex system of defense. It contained a wall which went from south-east to northwest, with a ditch and three semicircular ramparts in the centre and flanks.
A comprehensive study of Saharna Mare fortifications offers certain corrections to our understanding of the construction methods at ancient settlements in the 1st millennium BC. Remains of earth mounds almost always are wrecks of a once erected “wall”. The analysis of the main line of defensive system and two ramparts (the third is demolished) has shown that the fortification was constructed out of a timber wooden drainage placed on the leveled surface. In order to save the wooden fl oaring from moisture the gap was filled by sand. The timber drainage which was the footing of the fortification was pierced by poles located evenly and strengthened by longitudinal and transversal beams on different levels. This wooden carcass was filled by earth, stones, sand and clay. To ensure the preservation of the fortification the framework was filled by building material layer by layer. The outer sides of walls of the majority of settlements which were constructed following these methods have a 2-2,7 m wide berm. It was used as a base for a construction of clay and crushed stones aimed at protecting the wooden wall from fires, and it was thicker at its bottom and narrowing on its way to the top.
Ca. 2 meters away from its southern outer side a ditch was dug, with its width at the mouth varying between 16,5-18,0 m. Excavations have shown that in antiquity the width of the ditch on the surface was ca. 15,6 m, at the bottom – 6,1 m, the depth was 3,2 m, and its 2,1 m was dug out of the stony base of the promontory.
Horseshoe-shaped ramparts which were bordering the ditch were built using the same methodology. The precise time of erection and demolition of the defenses is so far difficult to establish with any precision. Following the analysis of the discovered material it is obvious that all of them were intact and functioning in the 4th –3d c. BC.
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 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.
