I sat on the bench in the courtyard of the National History Museum of Transylvania, for a story with Malvinka Urák, about her and the exhibition "I want to believe", built around the secret tablets from Tărtăria, a project on which she worked with Monica Bodea. The exhibition can still be visited at the museum only until October 6.
Malvinka is a museographer at the National History Museum of Transylvania, being a specialist in prehistory, specifically in the Iron Age.
– Malvinka, for the general public, can we explain in two words what "prehistory" means?
MU: – Prehistory ends at that moment when the written sources begin to appear (the accounts, the histories written by the ancient authors). According to the predominant material used by people, prehistory is divided into three ages: stone, bronze and iron. It took place thousands of years before Christ.
– What are the oldest historical evidences of human existence, found on the territory of Romania?
MU: – It dates from about 30.000 years ago. Hr, there is some evidence from the Paleolithic and it refers to discoveries made in the cave.
– How did you become a specialist in the Iron Age? Of all the periods of human existence, what made you focus on this period?
MU: – It was a rational decision. 
I focused more on the second part of this era, as I want to reconstruct the lifestyle of the people of that time. But not by researching the graves and what was found there, but by researching the settlements, the habitat.
– What is the area of research that you specifically chose?
MU: – Banat. New discoveries have been made due to transport infrastructure works. On the highway. And now we are researching there, as at least three settlements have been discovered.
– How do you reconstruct the habitat of these people? What do you rely on?
MU: – It may seem strange, but the reconstruction is done from the garbage puzzle that was left behind. And the most interesting is that archaeological site where the "garbage" discovered is the most varied.
– I actually saw a report about some people who worked at a garbage dump and had to sort the garbage for recycling. They used to say that you can get the best idea of how a family or community lives by analyzing the garbage produced. But for that, first of all, the existence of a community landfill is needed. Were there landfills at that time? How do you know it's trash and not other objects?
MU: – From the Bronze Age we can even talk about certain areas that are used specifically for this. And you realize that it is "garbage" because it is what was left behind, what was not transported in case of a move, for example. The most precious things were either taken with them or hidden.
-What is the certainty regarding the reconstruction of such distant eras?
MU: – The certainty is quite small, but the archeology and the connection of the information found with those existing in other countries, and which refer to the same period, lead to a certain standardization of the information.
- We start from here. From the small certainty. This is probably the reason for the mystery surrounding the tablets from Tărtăria. This mystery is already suggested by the title of the exhibition - "I want to believe". What about these tablets? Why this title?
MU: – The title of the exhibition starts from the controversial nature of the famous tablets from Tărtăria. Having been formulated during the last five decades many skeptical or contrary, exalted opinions, the exhibition wants to present not only the pieces, but also the story that is hidden behind these discoveries. The tablets can be seen in a wider context, with other Neolithic specimens also on display, such as the tablets discovered in Turdaș as early as the 19th century, clay discs discovered in excavations in Cluj-Napoca, but also a fourth tablet of at Tărtăria, the Secret Tablet, discovered during the last years.
– Do you want to believe and make others believe the mystery behind them?
MU: – No. I have a skeptical position. I, rather, want to believe whatever stands, not necessarily one of the hypotheses circulated. I want to find any element that might tip the balance towards true or false. Visitors also have the opportunity to observe and compare the representations of the tablets and form their own opinion about these discoveries, with information panels providing a step-by-step presentation of the outbreak and escalation of a scientific dispute that has had an effect on our perception of the pieces.
– Did you find the element that makes you believe in a particular hypothesis?
MU: – No. I'm still working on it. But still, reading the arguments of several specialists, I am inclined to believe that it was a mistake made at the archaeological site in 1961, when the situation was not satisfactorily documented and there were certain mistakes in interpretation.
- What you mean?
MU: - Well, look, for example at the fact that you don't know exactly in which era to place them. Soil stratigraphy is like a Doboș cake for an archaeologist. The lowest layer is the oldest layer and the layer closest to the ironing level is the newest. But these layers are not very clearly separated. That's why the pit it supposedly contained is hard to pin down. It is assumed that the tablets from Tărtăria were part of the Vinča-Turdaș culture, 5000 – 3000 BC. BC Because, in this pit where they were discovered, there were still some figurines that contributed to the connection with this culture. It is an important culture from the Middle Neolithic, which expanded on the current territory of some countries such as Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia. This situation would support the hypothesis that they belong to the oldest writing – the Danube Writing, the common writing of the Vinča-Turdaș culture. The problem is that the pit could come from a younger start, which would be a more logical explanation, because the pictographs are not unique, they are found on seals and clay tablets from Mesopotamia, in the Djemdet Nasr culture, 2900 – 2700 BC. BC That is much later. This second hypothesis claims that they would make economic sense.
– And is there no way to properly date these pieces?
MU: – Classical C14 dating procedures cannot be applied because when they were found, to be cleaned, they were subjected to substances that now make dating impossible.
- So, from here it is up to the visitor whether he chooses or not to believe in one hypothesis or another. From the impossibility of verifying it at a scientific level.
- Exactly. This is where I got the title, „I want to believe”, which is an expression that appeared on the poster of „The X-Files”. I thought it fit. And the UFO in the dice had the shape of a tablet like this. :)))
If you want to make up your own mind about what these tablets represent that have fascinated so many historians, visit the exhibition until October 6. At the moment, within the exhibition, you can also see Dana Fabini's artistic intervention on this subject.
