#Exhibit of the Month

The bronze hoard was discovered on the territory of Mîndrești village, Telenești district, in 1968. It was identified accidentally by a group of students from the village school, and the materials later came to the attention of specialists at the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences. According to documentary records, the hoard was composed of ten pieces: four socketed axes (celts), a dagger fragment, a sword fragment, a sickle, a winged axe, an adze-axe, and a chain consisting of four links.
Currently, of the mentioned assemblage, six objects are preserved in the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova: two socketed axes (celts), the winged axe, the adze-axe, the dagger fragment, and the chain made of four links.- Socketed axe (celt) with one loop. Dimensions: Length - 10.2 cm; Weight - 186 g.
- Socketed axe (celt) with one frontal loop. Dimensions: Length - 8.4 cm; Width: 33-46 mm; Weight - 124 g.
- Winged axe. Dimensions: Length - 14.0 cm; Width - 2.5-3.4 cm; Weight - 285 g.
- Adze-axe. Dimensions: Length - 14.8 cm; Width - 2.3-5.0 cm; Weight - 286 g.
- Dagger fragment. Dimensions: Length - 16.5 cm; Blade length - 9.8 cm; Blade width - 2.8 cm; Weight - 81 g.
- Chain formed of four links. Dimensions: Length - 17.1 cm; Link diameter - 3.8; Weight - 32 g.The bronze hoard of Mîndrești is important due to the association of objects that find analogies in the regional repertoire with pieces that show clear analogies in Central Europe and the Carpathian Basin. The assemblage reflects a zone of contact and interaction where metallic forms of different origins and traditions circulated and were integrated into the repertoire of local communities.
Chronologically, the bronze hoard of Mîndrești is attributed to the Early Hallstatt period - HaA1, being dated to 1200-1100 BC.

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Chronological Axis

Bronze Age

(early 3rd millennium B.C. – late 2nd millennium B.C.)

The Bronze Age is a cultural and historical period characterized by the appearance and spreading of items made of bronze – the first metal created artificially. In the Carpathian-Dniester area the first bronze objects appear in the early 3^rd millennium B.C., becoming the most widespread to the end of the Age. Along with bronze items, the material culture is also represented by ceramic vessels of different shapes, decorated and plain, and implements made of stone, bone, and horn. Characteristic of this period is the presence of burial mound complexes.

The Bronze Age consists of three stages, each one having the peculiarities of archaeological cultures, which form it.

The Early Bronze Age (middle of 3^rd millennium – early 2^nd millennium B.C.) is represented by the Ochre Graves culture (Yamna culture), the representatives of which are identified with the ancient Indo-Europeans [7]. In this period there are also included the Catacomb Graves culture [1] and the Edinet culture [5, 6]. The material culture of the population is notable for the presence of battle axes with irreproachably processed surfaces [1].

The Middle Bronze Age (early 2^nd millennium – middle of 2^nd millennium B.C.) is represented by the culture of pottery ornamented with many bolsters, of the Eurasian origin, and the Komarov culture [8], the last being a peripheral expression of the Bronze Age cultures from Poland and Western Ukraine.

The Late Bronze Age (middle of 2^nd millennium – late 2^nd millennium B.C.) is characterized by the emergence of the Noua-Sabatinovka-Coslogeni cultural complex, which combined elements of the Eurasian and Carpathian-Balkan origin, including vessels with handles [9]. The representatives of this cultural complex inhabited a vast territory from the North Pontic steppes to the Transylvanian Plateau. These communities were mainly engaged in cattle-breeding. The peculiarity of the Late Bronze Age is the presence of hoards with bronze items. In the Museum collection there are many such unique objects: axes, daggers, sickles, needles, vessels, adornments, and votive items [2, 3, 4].

1.Battle axe-hummer, the Catacomb culture