#Exhibit of the Month

The 21 beads form part of a bronze hoard found in 2019 within a forested area close to the town of Nisporeni. Alongside the beads, the hoard included numerous bronze ornaments (2 Röschitz-Sanislău-type fibulae, 7 necklaces, 12 rings, 22 tubes, 23 bracelets, and approximately 80 appliqués), one coral bead and a pendant made from a wild animal's tooth. At present, the amber beads are preserved in the collections of the Muzeul Național de Istorie a Moldovei, while the remainder of the hoard is in the possession of a private collector.
The hoard was discovered accidentally in a pit about 50 cm deep. The objects in this hoard are of Western origin, with known parallels in archaeological complexes from Poland, Hungary, Serbia, and Slovakia, and, to a lesser extent, in Romania. The presence of this bronze hoard on the territory of the Republic of Moldova illustrates the cultural dynamics of the region during the Early Iron Age and a fundamental shift in the vector of cultural influences from east to west.

The amber bead strand comprises 16 whole beads and five fragmentary ones. They have an elongated biconical shape and vary in size. The beads are brown-reddish in color; their lengths range from 1.1 to 3.1 cm, widths from 0.6 to 1.4 cm, thicknesses from 0.6 to 1.1 cm, and the perforation diameter ranges between 0.2 and 0.3 cm.
Amber beads appear in several bronze hoards dated to the Late Bronze Age in the eastern half of Slovakia and in Transdanubian Hungary. Parallels are also known from the Cioclovina Cave in Romania. With the onset of the Iron Age, amber items disappear from the Carpathian Basin for approximately 300 years, reappearing alongside the arrival of Scythian elements.
The bronze hoard discovered at Nisporeni is dated to the HaA2-HaB1-2 interval (1050/1000 - 800/750 B.C.).

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Research Research Projects

GDRE (Groupement de Recherche Européen) „Trouvailles monétaires" (2007-2010)

During 2007-2010 the Museum developed the international project of numismatic research GDRE (Groupement de Recherche Européen) „Trouvailles monétaires"

Members of GDRE:

France, CNRS: Paris (Centre de recherches historique) - Georges Depeyrot - GDRE coordinator; Musee des Terreaux, Lyon;

The Republic of Moldova, Academy of Sciences of Moldova: National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova (A. Boldureanu- coordinator) and the Institute of Cultural Heritage (S. Tabac);

Poland, Warsaw University: Institute of Arhaeology;

Romania, Romanian Academy: Institute of Archaeology; Cabinet of Medals of Academy Library;

Slovenia, National Museum: Cabinet of Medals.

Mission of GDRE:

- Facilitate and encourage contacts and exchanges of researches;
- Promote co-operation actions;
- Coordinate research programs for many partners for the purpose of supporting of research and technological development;
- Find opportunities to harmonize and complement the programs through seminars, congresses devoted to scientific themes of GDRE, etc.

Work plan and schedule for the Republic of Moldova

1. In 2009, complete and publish the book "Corpus de tresors de Moldavie".

2. Publication of the book "Tresors majeurs de Moldavie".

Activities in the framework of GDRE:

1. The round table "Discoveries of Coins" organized by the European Research Group in the framework of the 8th Symposium of Numismatics held on May 29-30, 2007 in Chisinau.

2. Participation in the session of the European Research Group in the framework of the 9th Symposium of Numismatics held in Chisinau on September 17-18, 2008.

3. Participation in the international conference organized by the Jagellonian University in Krakow, Poland, where the participants of GDRE met in the framework of inter-academic exchange on April 21-26, 2008. In the course of the work there were summed up the activities for 2007 and planned the activities for the next period.

4. Participation in the International Congress of Numismatics, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom, August 31- September 4, 2009.