The Constanța History and Archaeology Museum () is a museum located at 12 Piața Ovidiu,
Constanța
Constanța (, , ) is a city in the Dobruja Historical regions of Romania, historical region of Romania. A port city, it is the capital of Constanța County and the country's Cities in Romania, fourth largest city and principal port on the Black ...
, Romania.
History
As early as 1878, the year when the
Romanian Old Kingdom
The Romanian Old Kingdom ( or just ''Regat''; or ) is a colloquial term referring to the territory covered by the first independent Romanian nation state, which was composed of the Romanian Principalities: Wallachia and Moldavia. The union of the ...
acquired
Northern Dobruja
Northern Dobruja ( or simply ; , ''Severna Dobrudzha'') is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube, Danube River and the Black Sea, bordered in the south by Southern Dobruja, which is a part of Bulgaria.
...
, its first
prefect
Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area.
A prefect' ...
,
Remus Opreanu, proposed creating an archaeology museum. This was soon done, in Opreanu's office. After the prefecture building burned down in 1882, the surviving pieces were housed in the public garden pavilion. By 1911, the surviving collection was in storage at a local high school. That year,
Vasile Pârvan, head of the National Museum of Antiquities, wrote a report calling for a permanent museum in Constanța; this is considered its founding charter. From 1912, the museum was located in a kiosk in the city park. It was moved into a wing of the city hall in 1928, opening two years later.
[History]
at the museum site The city hall building, now that of the museum, was built between 1912 and 1921, and designed by
Victor Ștefănescu in the
Romanian National Style.
By the 1930s, the museum was becoming crowded; donations, acquisitions and excavations were constantly expanding the collection. In 1937, the archaeology section held 272 items. In 1957, the museum was reorganized under the leadership of
Vasile Canarache and moved into a new building, now
the Archbishop's Palace. It featured exhibit space, a restoration laboratory, a specialized library and modern equipment. Eventually, this space too became insufficient, as the history section stopped with the Middle Ages. In 1977, the museum moved into the entire city hall building.
Collection
The ground floor of the museum features two rooms of archaeological finds. The middle floor describes the ancient and medieval history of Dobruja. The highest floor is dedicated to modern history, as well as thematic expositions.
The archaeological collection includes 24 sculptures (statues and bas reliefs) found in 1962 while foundations were being dug for an apartment building. That very summer, 300,000 visitors saw the new discovery, which has remained a matter of scientific interest. The centerpiece is a
glycon dating to the 2nd century AD. Sculptures of
Tyche
Tyche (; Ancient Greek: Τύχη ''Túkhē'', 'Luck', , ; Roman mythology, Roman equivalent: Fortuna) was the presiding tutelary deity who governed the fortune and prosperity of a city, its destiny. In Classical Greek mythology, she is the dau ...
, the protecting divinity of Tomis (ancient Constanța), and of
Pontus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
, god of the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
, date to the same period. A bust of
Isis
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
and a relief showing a
Thracian horseman
The Thracian horseman (also "Thracian Rider" or "Thracian Heroes") is a recurring Motif (visual arts), motif depicted in reliefs of the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic and Roman Empire, Roman periods in the Balkans—mainly Thrace, Macedonia (reg ...
are from the 3rd century.
Other items include an 18th-century bronze brooch found at
Vadu in 1989; a 2nd or 3rd-century gold and glass necklace from
Mangalia
Mangalia (, ), ancient Callatis (; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Northern Dobruja, Romania.
The municipality of Mangalia als ...
(Callatis), found 1985; a gold and stone medallion from the 1962 excavation; a 3rd or 4th-century gold earring with goat pendant from
Vama Veche; a 2nd-century gold ring with gem inset from Tomis; and a 4th to 6th-century gold cross with gem inset found at Mangalia in 1983. Finally, there is a 4th-century
hypogeum
A hypogeum or hypogaeum ( ; plural hypogea or hypogaea; literally meaning "underground") is an underground temple or tomb.
Hypogea will often contain niches for cremated human remains or loculi for buried remains. Occasionally tombs of th ...
style tomb discovered in Constanța in 1988. It is noted for the artistic value of the painted interior, featuring elements both of
Ancient Greek religion
Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and Greek mythology, mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and Cult (religious practice), cult practices. The application of the modern concept ...
and Christianity.
Artefact traco scit IMG 5894.JPG, Scythian
The Scythians ( or ) or Scyths (, but note Scytho- () in composition) and sometimes also referred to as the Pontic Scythians, were an ancient Eastern Iranian equestrian nomadic people who had migrated during the 9th to 8th centuries BC fr ...
statue, first Iron Age
The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...
, stone; from Sibioara (Constanța County
Constanța () is a Counties of Romania, county (județ) of Romania on the Bulgaria–Romania border, border with Bulgaria, in the Dobruja region. Its capital city is also named Constanța.
Demographics
In 2021, it had a population of 655,997 ...
, Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
)
ScytianBowl.JPG, Scythian bowl, 5th-4th century BC, bronze; from Castelu (near Medgidia, Constanța County)
CeremonyHelmet5.JPG, Fragment of parade helmet earmuff, 1st century AD, bronze; from Ostrov
Cadran Solar IMG 5916.JPG, Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of Roman civilization
*Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...
sundial
A sundial is a horology, horological device that tells the time of day (referred to as civil time in modern usage) when direct sunlight shines by the position of the Sun, apparent position of the Sun in the sky. In the narrowest sense of the ...
, 1st-2nd century, marble; from Cumpăna (Constanța County)
MithraConstantaMuseum (cropped & edited).jpg, Mithriac low relief, 1st-2nd century; from the Adam Cave ( Gura Dobrogei, Constanța County)
Muzeul de Istorie Națională și Arheologie din Constanța.jpg, Mithriac low relief, 1st-2nd century; from the Adam Cave
Fortuna cu Pontos.jpg, Fortuna
Fortuna (, equivalent to the Greek mythology, Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Religion in ancient Rome, Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular thr ...
with Pontus
Pontus or Pontos may refer to:
* Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea)
* Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology
* Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...
, 2nd century, marble; height: 1.55 m
Muzeul de Istorie Națională și Arheologie din Constanța Romania.jpg, Aedicula
In religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a Niche (architecture), niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns an ...
with two female statues inside, representing the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
goddess Nemesis
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods.
Etymology
The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek ...
, marble; height: 1.05 m, width: 0.5 m, thickness: 0.285 m
Glycon2.JPG, Statue of Glycon, late 2nd century, marble; height: 0.66 m
Cavaler trac ct IMG 5989 (cropped and fixed angles).jpg, Low relief of a Thracian horseman
The Thracian horseman (also "Thracian Rider" or "Thracian Heroes") is a recurring Motif (visual arts), motif depicted in reliefs of the Hellenistic period, Hellenistic and Roman Empire, Roman periods in the Balkans—mainly Thrace, Macedonia (reg ...
, 3rd century, marble; height: 0.22 m, width: 0.225 m, thickness: 0.032 m
Estela funeraria de Tomis 01.jpg, Funerary stela
A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...
, 3rd-4th century, marble
Ionic capital exhibited at the entrance of the Constanța History and Archaeology Museum (Constanța, Romania).jpg, Ionic capital
Capital and its variations may refer to:
Common uses
* Capital city, a municipality of primary status
** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital
** List of national capitals
* Capital letter, an upper-case letter
Econom ...
exhibited next to the museum entrance
Building
The museum building was designed as a city hall by architect
Victor Ștefănescu.
Prince Ferdinand laid the cornerstone in May 1912. Construction was halted in 1913, restarted in summer 1914, then stopped again during World War I. The building was inaugurated in July 1921. Aside from its political and administrative function, it housed a beer hall in the basement, with room for 300 customers; as well as a coffee and pastry shop in a ground floor wing, and a restaurant in the other wing.
[ Mariana Iancu]
“Povestea fabuloasă a palatului ridicat prin desfiinţarea a două străzi”
''Adevărul'', May 21, 2016
The structure is in
Romanian Revival style, with a loggia, columns and small windows. At the time of its construction, was criticized for its excessive cost, and for blocking wind from the sea, creating a heat island. The building is listed as a
historic monument
A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...
by Romania's
Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs.
Notes
References
*
*
External links
Official site
{{coord, 44.1738, 28.6581, type:landmark_region:RO, display=title
Buildings and structures in Constanța
Historic monuments in Constanța County
Neo-Brâncovenesc architecture
1911 establishments in Romania
Museums established in 1911
History museums in Romania
Archaeological museums in Romania
Museums of Dacia
City and town halls in Romania
Former seats of local government
Former pubs
Government buildings completed in 1921
History of Dobruja