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).
Unique manuscript from the archive of Paul Gore (1860)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Keywords: Principality of Moldavia, Bessarabia, cultural history, manuscript, Paul Gore, Gheorghe Gore.
Abstract: The archive of Paul Gore, scattered over time on various private and public collections, always aroused the interest of researchers in many fields: genealogy, heraldry, sociology, cultural history or history of Bessarabia, especially under Tsarist domination. The most valuable collections of documents are kept in the Bucharest archives (Central National Historical Archives in Bucharest - ANICB), where there are 96 documents from Gore's family archive (1579-1945).
A significant part of the collection consists of documents containing different historical information about the life and work of Gheorghe Gore (1839-1909). The activities of Paul Gore on the cultural arena of Bessarabia (the 2nd half of the 19th century) are well known. Less known are his writings, which remained for the most part in the manuscripts. Among Paul Gore's works we can distinguish a unique manuscript - "The public life of Moldavia until 1812: Gheorghe Gore's reasoning" (1860). The work contains 93 pages (in the notebook), and is in fact one of the first Bessarabian historical writings on land law of the Principality of Moldavia until 1812.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. The title page of the manuscript "The public life of Moldavia until 1812: Gheorghe Gore's reasoning", Moscow, 1860 (ANICB, Fond Paul Gore, file no. 4, fascicle no. 2). Fig. 2. The first page of the manuscript "The public life of Moldavia until 1812: Gheorghe Gore's reasoning", Moscow, 1860 (ANICB, Fond Paul Gore, file no. 4, fascicle no. 2). Fig. 3. The title page of the manuscript "The public life of Moldavia until 1812: Gheorghe Gore's reasoning", translated into Romanian (ANICB, Fond Paul Gore, file no. 4). Fig. 4. Gheorghe Gore (seated), a law student at the University of Moscow in 1857-1861 (National Archives of the Republic of Moldova, iconographic collection).
Maria Danilov
The Bessarabian manuscript of the Anthim’s sermons
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Maria Danilov
Pedagogical literature of Bessarabia: editions, impressions and imposed models (1814-1918)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
Maria Danilov
Press and Censorship in Bessarabia at the beginning of XXth century
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Maria Danilov
Diplomatic efforts on the Bessarabian question during 1914-1916
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2015
Maria Danilov
Diffusion of imperial press in Bessarabia and censorship institutions
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], 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.