DECEMBER 1 FROM HOME
CLUJENI AND THE GREAT UNION OF 1918
The exhibition commemorates the completion of the Romanian state edifice through the Union of Transylvania with Romania proclaimed in Alba Iulia on December 1, 1918. At the same time, a series of personalities from Cluj, men and women, young and old, who contributed to the creation of the modern state of Romania, are evoked. a fact for which he fully deserves our knowledge, appreciation and gratitude.
The exhibition includes ten documentary panels with synthetic texts and images of pieces and documents from the museum's heritage. They illustrate a broad theme that includes the self-determination movement of the Romanians in Transylvania in the fall of 1918, the establishment in Cluj of the Romanian National Senate from Transylvania and the Romanian National Guard (November 2-3, 1918), the participation of Cluj delegates at the National Assembly in Alba Iulia from December 1, 1918, the entry of the Romanian army into Cluj (December 24, 1918) and the establishment the Romanian administration at the beginning of 1919.
The public who wants to know more about the events and happenings of those historic and dramatic days, more than a century ago, has the bilingual anniversary volume available at the museum stand Remembering the Great Union. Centenary 1918-2018. In addition to the exhibition catalog, here are also published notes written daily by Mrs. Sidonia Docan, secretary of the Romanian National Senate from Cluj, participant in the National Assembly in Alba Iulia, about which she notes:
"Alba Iulia, December 1 1918. In the morning, according to ancient tradition, religious service before the assembly. Huge world, picturesque groups of peasants from all lands. With great emotion and satisfaction I look at these proud and dignified figures, who endured so many trials and severe injustices, keeping their temperance and serenity."
Project coordinator: dr. Ovidiu Muntean











- Published in HOME MUSEUM
Dull ax from the Neolithic period

The first exhibit with which we want to arouse the interest of amateur historians is the so-called axe., a unique piece from the polished stone period, discovered in the 1960s, at Gurile Baciului, in a Neolithic female tomb.
Before museographer Dr. Monica Bodea tells you more about the symbolism behind this object, Dr. George Cupcea, deputy general director of the museum, will tell you about our many collections, and Dr. Márta Guttmann, expert restorer, will talk to you about the importance of protecting and restoring historical objects.

- Published in HOME MUSEUM
Dwellings from the Eneolithic period

Because we all have to stay at home these days, we thought we'd tell you about what houses looked like in the Neolithic period. As our colleagues, specialists in this period will convince you, prehistoric people had a rich spiritual life and knowledge to build lavish and carefully decorated dwellings. The museographer Malvinka Urák talks about a portal from the Enelolithic period, which is in the museum's collections, and Dr. Mihai Rotea and Dr. Tudor Sălăgean, director of the Ethnographic Museum of Transylvania, discuss the structure and construction materials used to build the houses from this period.

- Published in HOME MUSEUM
The tablets from Tărtăria

Today we learn interesting things about the Tartăria Tablets, which are among the most controversial objects in the collection of the National History Museum of Transylvania. Numerous more or less credible histories have been built around them. Our colleagues, Dr. Monica Bodea and Dr. Mihai Rotea, talk to Ovidiu Moldovan about the context of their discovery, about the theories regarding their dating, but also about the meaning they could carry.



Clay tablets (set of 3 pieces) with signs, Tărtăria (Alba county)
- Published in HOME MUSEUM
Miniature clay house from the Neolithic period

Today our colleagues Malvinka Urák and Dr. Mihai Rotea tell us about the first cities and how they were organized in the Neolithic period, but also about a miniature clay house, discovered in Turdaș, in the second half of the century. the nineteenth. The piece was dated to the advanced Neolithic (about 4900 BC) and was donated to the museum in 1891 by Countess Zsófia Torma. Our colleague Sanda Man tells us some interesting things about the countess, about her passion for the past and especially for the openings in Turdaș.

- Published in HOME MUSEUM
Clay idol, bucranium or crescent type

The other day I learned some interesting things about the material and spiritual life of prehistoric people. Our colleagues, Malvinka Urák and Dr. Mihai Rotea, tell us today about a clay idol, of the bucranium or semilunar type, so named because it resembled a bull's skull, discovered in a tumulus in Cheile Aiudului, Alba county. In the opinion of Mihai Rotea, the bull would represent the male principle which, together with the mother goddess, the female principle, formed the duality of the Neolithic religious world. Dr. Gheorghe Lazarovici presents another possible interpretation for this interesting Eneolithic object.

- Published in HOME MUSEUM
Mycenaean type rapier

On our journey we have already reached the Bronze Age, a period in which the way of life of people changed: the mobility of communities increased, as well as the number of armed conflicts due to the struggle for resources. Our colleagues, Malvinka Urák, Mihai Rotea and Mihai Wittemberger tell us today about an exceptional piece from the museum's collection – a Mycenaean-type rapier. Rapiers are cavalry swords, spread from Greece throughout the Balkan Peninsula and are very rare pieces, only a few examples being known in Transylvania.

- Published in HOME MUSEUM
The bronze deposit from Uioara

Today we go to Uioara, in Alba county, and learn more about an accidental but very important discovery that took place in 1909. We are talking about a deposit of bronzes that includes approximately 6000 pieces (tools, weapons, ornaments), which together exceed one ton in weight. Dr. Mihai Rotea argues that the Uioara deposit was cultic, dedicated to a deity, and Dr. Monica Bodea tells us the story of a special object, a belt made of a thin sheet of bronze, richly decorated with fine engraving. Our colleague Radu Cordoș tells us about how these pieces can be stabilized, to avoid their corrosion and damage over time


Brău, Uioara de Sus (Alba county)
- Published in HOME MUSEUM
The afterlife and mummification

Today we are talking about the afterlife and mummification. You may be wondering, quite rightly, what is the connection between Transylvania and Egyptian mummies? The National History Museum of Transylvania is one of the two museums in the country that keeps a mummy with a sarcophagus in its collections. This rare artefact entered our heritage in 1910 and is part of a batch of 70 sarcophagi, all discovered near Cairo. Our colleague Dr. Eugenia Beu-Dachin tells us the story of the insignia that decorate the mummy's carton (the painted textile covering) and its sarcophagus, and Dr. Alexandru Diaconescu tells us about Ka, the soul of the deceased, about the reason why people mummified themselves, who had the right to being mummified and how this phenomenon evolves in ancient Egypt.


Egyptian mummy with sarcophagus, Sharuna – Gamhud (Egypt)
- Published in HOME MUSEUM
The first coin – the hemihecta

These days we are concerned with the state of the world economy, monetary appreciation or depreciation. To find out when and where the foundations of the economy were laid, we must make a leap in time, more than 500 years before our era, and go precisely to Lydia. Guided by Dr. Agnes Găzdac and Dr. Radu Ardevan, today we learn some interesting things about the first coin - the hemihecta - and about the major changes brought by the appearance of this commercial instrument. Our colleagues will tell us about how we can recognize such a precious artifact, what material it was made of, what was its value, about who could mint money, how it was built and how the system in which it was used evolved. You should also know that around 300 Lydian coins have been preserved worldwide, and one of these numismatic rarities is in our museum collection.


1/12 stater, Sardis mint, Lydia
- Published in HOME MUSEUM