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#Exhibit of the Month

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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.

Virtual Tour


Publications Journal „Tyragetia"


Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
ISSN 1857-0240
E-ISSN 2537-6330

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică

Chișinău, 2010

I. Researches


Valeriu Cavruc
Some aspects regarding exchange of salt in 6th - 2nd millennia BC in the Carpatho-Danubian area

Игорь Манзура
Copper Age burials with “extended” skeletons in the Carpathian-Dniester region

Maja Kașuba, Aurel Zanoci
Der Wohnungsbau im hallstattzeitlichen Milieu der ostkarpatischen Region im 12. - 8. Jh. v. u. Z. (Traditionen, kulturelle Unterschiede und die Aussichten einer Vergleichsstudie)

Valeriu Banaru
Zur Anfangsphase der Verbreitung attischer rotfiguriger Keramik im Nordwesten des Pontos Euxeinos

III. Paper and book review


Galina Bodareu
Archaeological research in the north-eastern part of the Horodca Mare site, Ialoveni district, field season 2008

Дмитрий Куштан
Deposit of Flint Raw Material from the Late Tripolian Settlement Sharin III

Jurgita Alvarez Romero
Populația culturii topoarelor de luptă din estul Mării Baltice, Lituania

Владимир Белозор, Александр Могилов, Сергей Скорый
Early Iron Age complexes near Kozlov village in the Middle Dniester area

Florea Costea
Încă o fibulă hallstattiană descoperită în fortificația de la Racoș-Piatra Detunată

Octavian Munteanu, Vasile Iarmulschi, Veronica Perju, Livia Ermurachi
The first building-phase of the fortification at Horodca Mică

Viorel Stoian
Roman imports discovered at the Brăilița archaeological site

Сергей М. Агульников, Валерий Бубулич
Sarmatian stela with tamga found near Taraclia

David Schwarcz, Zsuzsa Varga
METALWORK IN THE EARLY AVAR PERIOD: GRANULATION, FILIGREE - IMITATION

Ion Tentiuc
About horse rider pendants from the early Medieval period in the Prut-Dniester area

Иван Власенко
Defensive system of citadel Mereșeuca-Cetățuie

Светлана Рябцева
On some ornaments and clothing accessories of the populations from the Carpathian-Danubian space in the 14th-17th centuries

Andrei Corobcean
Some aspects of the problem of reflection of ethnic distinctions in stylistic variations of artefacts

Ana Boldureanu
Chronicle of monetary discoveries (IV)

Sergiu Musteață
Манаджемент археологического насследия и кража древностей в Республике Молдова

III. Paper and book review


Михаил Аникович, Николай К. Анисюткин
Н.А. Кетрару, Г.В. Григорьева, С.И. Коваленко, Верхнепалеолитическая стоянка Рашков VII. Кишинев, 2007, 185 с.

Ion Tentiuc
Sergiu Matveev, Procesele etno-culturale din spațiul carpato-nistrean în secolele II-XIV. Istoriografia sovietică. Chișinău: Pontos, 2009, 230 p. text + 5 tabele

Ana Boldureanu
Олександр Огуй, Монетнi знахiдки на Буковинi. Системно-квантитативне зiставлення. Чернiвцi, ЧНУ, 2008, 252 p. + 4 hărți + 4 pl. ISBN 978-966-423-018-3

Larisa Noroc
Liliana Condraticova, Arta bijuteriilor din Moldova. Iași: Editura Lumen, 2010, 286 p.

IV. In memoriam


Rodica Ursu-Naniu
Omul Cetății. In memoriam Gavrilă Simion




 

 

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#Exhibit of the Month

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)...

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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.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



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.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

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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.
©2006-2025 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC