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).
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Through this article we would like to present, in first of all for the Moldovan audience, the experience of the US in the field of cultural heritage preservation. In the first part of the study is analysed the development of the federal legal framework and presented the most important acts, such as Antiquity Act-1906, The Historic Sites Act (HSA)-1935, The National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA)-1966, The Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA)-1979, The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)-1990. In the paper also are mentioned other federal laws and presidential executive orders which are directly linked with the heritage preservation.
During the second part of the article is shortly presented the US federal infrastructure responsible for the cultural and natural heritage management. The most important institutions are the governmental one (Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), National Park Service (NPS) and other federal agencies, Federal Preservation Institute, Historic Preservation Officer, National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers etc. Also, are presented the principles of function of the National Register of Historic Places, in criteria and rules for eligibility for inclusion the historic sites in the National Register. In the US a very important role in the preservation historic heritage are playing the NGOs. At the national level the most active Smithsonian Institution, National Trust for Historic Preservation, US/ICOMOS, Society for American Archaeology (SAA), Archaeological Institute of America (AIA), Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA), The Archaeological Conservancy (AC), National Preservation Institute (NPI) etc.
In conclusion, we could say that during one hundred years the US reached a viable legal and administrative framework, based in first of all on education of the citizens, which could be a good example for many countries around the World.
Sergiu Musteață
Florin Curta, (Ed.), The Other Europe in the Middle Ages. Avars, Bulgars, Khazars and Cumans, Florin Curta, General Editor, East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450, volume 2, Leiden/Boston: BRILL, 2008, ISSN 1872-8103, ISBN 978 90 04 16389 8
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Sergiu Musteață
A new law - a new perspective for the archaeological heritage preservation in the Republic of Moldova
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Sergiu Musteață
Marcin Woloszyn (Ed.), Byzantine coins in central Europe between 5th and 10th century. Proceedings from the conference organized by Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences and Institute of Archaeology University of Reszow under the patronage of Union Academique International. (Programme No. 57 Moravia Magna). Krakow, 23-26 IV 2007. Moravia Magna. Seria Polona III, Krakow, 2009, 684 pp., ISBN 978-83-7676-008-7
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Sergiu Musteață
Ethics and Professional Deontology in Archaeology
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Sergiu Musteață
Stefan Ihrig, Wer sind die Moldawier? Rumänismus versus Moldowanismus in Historiographie und Schulbüchern der Republik Moldova, 1991-2006, Stuttgart: ibidem-Verlag, 2008, ISBN-10: 3-89821-466-4
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
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.