The artifact is a battle axe made from magmatic rock (diabase) of gray-brown color. It was accidentally discovered in 1966 within the territory of Aluniș village, Rîșcani district. Based on its morphological characteristics, the artifact can be attributed to the Catacomb culture (29th-22nd centuries BCE).
The axe features a massive, elongated naviform body with slightly pronounced shoulders, a short and narrow edge that is flat and circular in cross-section. The blade is slightly curved. The hole was drilled in the maximum width of the object. It is circular in shape with a diameter of 2.2 cm. The surface of the artifact is meticulously polished, worked with great care, and shows no signs of damage or chipping.
Dimensions: Length: 20.0 cm; Maximum width: 8.4 cm; Edge diameter: 5.0 cm; Blade width: 7.0 cm; Weight: 2.3 kg.
Stone battle axes are characteristic of the Catacomb culture communities and are most often found as grave goods, deposited in tombs. Their presence in funerary complexes suggests a multifaceted functionality: weapons, social symbols, and ritual objects. Initially used as weapons, the axes became social symbols for their owners, later acquiring votive significance when deposited in tombs to serve the deceased in the afterlife.
The social symbolic function of stone battle axes is indicated by the high-quality rocks used for their manufacture and the exceptionally meticulous craftsmanship. The large dimensions of the axe from Aluniș support this hypothesis and distinguish it from other examples.
The discovery of stone battle axes outside a funerary complex may indicate their votive deposition. It is difficult to imagine that these exceptionally well-crafted pieces, made from high-quality rocks transported over great distances, could have been abandoned or lost accidentally. It is far more likely that they were deposited for magical-religious purposes, a possibility that may also apply to the stone axe discovered at Aluniș.
Михаил Видейко, Джон Чапмен, Наталья Бурдо, Биссерка Гейдарская, Стоилка Игнатова, Светлана Иванова, Виталий Рудь
Research project "Early urbanism in prehistoric Europe: the case of the Trypillian mega-sites" in 2013
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
In 2013, the Ukrainian-British expedition under the scientifi c-research project "The Tripillian Mega-Sites Project (Early urbanism in prehistoric Europe: the case of the Tripillian mega-sites)" continued research on the settlement at Nebelevka. The Project successfully completed a fi ve-week summer season, running from 15th July to 17th August 2013. The principal objectives of the 2013 seasons were defi ned before the season, as follows: geophysical prospecting of a further 160 ha of the mega-site, the excavation of several Trypillian features: a pit near a Trypillian house and sections across linear features on geophysical plots identifi ed in the 2012. The Ukrainian side excavated a house-and-pit complex near the 2012 mega-structure trench (tr. 3), Bisserka Gaydarska and Toni Stoilka Ignatova began the excavation of a large pit (tr. 4). Excavations confi rmed the existence of cultural layer around dwellings. There were investigated several pits, originally served for the extraction of clay. Later at this pits there were deposited artifacts, related to everyday life and sacral life of the nearest households. There were provided the mechanical coring and test-pitting of 50 burnt structures to recover samples for AMS dating, on-site soil micromorphological investigations; finished intensive, systematic fi eld walking of a further 20 km2 of the Nebelivka hinterland; conducted palaeo-environmental investigations of further sites near to Nebelivka and within a 30 km radius; completed plan of site, based on magnetic survey, checked few types of the new kinds of archaeological objects found by geophysicists.
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1. Plan of Nebelivka and location of 2013 trenches: 1 - places of trenches 3 and 4; 2 - place of excavations at 2012-2013; 3 - place of tr. 43; 4 - place of tr. 3; 5 - place of tr. 4. Fig. 2. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, general views. Fig. 3. Nebelivka 2013. House B17, clay elevations 1-4. Fig. 4. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, house B17, elevation on ground level. Fig. 5. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, house B17, ceramic abrasive. Fig. 6. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, house B17, pottery at the remains of house. Fig. 7. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, house B17, pottery at and under remains of house. Fig. 8. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, house B17, clay interior details with traces of painting and other decorations. Fig. 9. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, house B17, clay interior details with traces of painting and other decorations. Fig. 10. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, house B17, plaster of walls with traces of painting. Fig. 11. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, house B17, fi nds of painted pottery. Fig. 12. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, house B17, pit near the house, cross-sections. Fig. 13. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, remains of the house B18. Fig. 14. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 3, pit near house B18, general view and cross-section. Fig. 15. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 4, investigations of the pit. Fig. 16. Nebelivka 2013. Test pits: 1 - TP 2; 2 - TP 4, 3-4 - TP 25; 5 - TP 6. Fig. 17. Nebelivka 2013. Test-pit 1, bowl on foots. Fig. 18. Nebelivka 2013. Finds from test-pits: 1, 4, 5 - from TP 4 (AMS 1/3); 2, 3 - TP 4 (AMS 1/4). Fig. 19. Nebelivka 2013. Early Bronze Age kurgan at the area of the site. Fig. 20. Nebelivka 2013. Tr. 4, part of the clay model of the house. Fig. 21. Nebelivka 2013. Anthropomorphous fi gurines from different trenches. Fig. 22. Nebelivka 2013. Small fi nds and fl int tool.
Наталья Бурдо
Anthropomorphic figurines from early Bronze Age burial mounds in the Bug-Dnieper interfluves and the Dnieper area
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Михаил Видейко
Crises and early urbanization processes in Europe
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Михаил Видейко
The channel kilns in Trypillia Culture and development of pottery
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIII [XXVIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Наталья Бурдо
The Cucuteni C pottery in the Cucuteni-Trypillia cultural complex (Formulation of the problem and a brief historiography)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică Chișinău, 2016
Наталья Бурдо
Traces of the ritual practice at a large Trypillian culture settlement near Maydanetske
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
The artifact is a battle axe made from magmatic rock (diabase) of gray-brown color. It was accidentally discovered in 1966 within the territory of Aluniș village, Rîșcani district. Based on its morphological characteristics, the artifact can be attributed to the Catacomb culture (29th-22nd centuries BCE)...
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.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
