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. X [XXV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Keywords: history of archaeology, MSSR, Echimăuți, Gradiște, Ofatinți, Saharna.
Abstract: For several decades after the Second World War the problem of the history of archaeological research is constantly present in the special studies. However, a comprehensive analysis of the history of archeology in the Prut-Dniester space for a long time was not performed. The first work devoted to studies of ancient history and archeology in the period between 1715 and 1945 was carried out by N. Chetraru.
The light on the events that took place in the MSSR after the Second World War is shed due to the documents stored in the archives of the Republic of Moldova. In this paper there are presented two important documents: the first one regarding the reforming of the Moldavian Institute of History, Economics, Language and Literature with the creation of a sub-department for History and Archaeology, dated December, 17 1945; the second one is the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the Moldavian SSR from December 21, 1945 "On preparation for archaeological research on the territory of the Moldavian SSR in 1946".
According to the latter document, for 1946 the holding of two archaeological investigations along the course of the Middle Dniester and the exploration of seven archaeological sites were planned. Towards this, a well developed budget was proposed, providing tools, instruments and supplies, as well as the creation of a photographic cabinet and its supplying with all the necessary equipment. In the first stage experts from scientific centers of the USSR had to be invited, and then the Institute should prepare local professionals.
Several reports from the archive of the National Museum of History of Moldova on the excavations carried out in 1946 bring more detail on the implementation of the decisions of the December 1945. Archaeological research in 1946 began only on June 30 instead of the planned May 1. Of the nine planned works (2 archaeological reconnaisance and excavations at 7 archaeological sites), two archaeological reconnaissance were produced on a modified route and only one tumulus was investigated instead of three as planned. However, the same year several unplanned investigations were carried out. In 1946 field investigations were conducted by experts from the Institute of Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR, and only since 1947 archaeological excavations in MSSR were conducted by researchers from Moscow.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. Research planned for 1946. Fig. 2. Research on the Gradiște, from left to right: D.T. Berezovec, I.F. Mester (?) și T.G. Oboldueva (Оболдуева 1946). Fig. 3. Research on the Gradiște. The heads of the survey and the employees. (Оболдуева 1946). Fig. 4. Research carried out in 1946.
Ion Niculiță, Aurel Zanoci, Mihail Băț, Sergiu Matveev
Archaeological investigations at the site of Saharna Mare (2009-2011) (I)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
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Sergiu Matveev, Ana Boldureanu
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Sergiu Matveev
The reflection of the ethno-cultural processes from the 2nd-14th centuries between Prut and Nistru in the soviet ethno-folck studies
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
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.