The National Museum of Banat together with the Timis County Council organizes the 4th edition of the Medieval Festival of Huniade Castle. Shining armour, horses, war camps, swords, axes, cannons and rifles, common knights and the flower of knights, skilful cooks, beautiful maidens and famous craftsmen, minstrels and comedians, squires and noblemen of note: you can see them all from 22 to 24 July in the park of Huniade Castle in the centre of Timișoara, brought to life by numerous partner historical reenactment groups from Romania and abroad.

The exhibition “150 years since the foundation of the National Museum of Banat” is a chronological one and contains more than 150 priceless heritage objects, many of which will be seen by the public for the first time. The event illustrates the work of all the sections of the National Museum of Banat, from the foundation of the institution in 1872 to the present day.

“In Love with Memories” is an exhibition created as a result of the competition with the same name organized by the National Museum of Banat. It consists of 40 photographs illustrating love as seen by the contestants.

“A glimpse into the future – 100 years since the birth of Pier Paolo Pasolini” is a photography exhibition that will also include film screenings and previously unseen videos from his life.

Clanga clanga (Pallas, 1811), Class Aves, Order Falconiformes, Family Accipitridae

“The Greater Spotted Eagle is a species characteristic of low-elevation woodlands near wetlands. Body length is 59-69 cm and average weight is between 1600-2500 g, with females being larger (up to 3200 g). Wing span is 153-177 cm. It is a large, compact bird with dark brown plumage, whose silhouette in flight resembles that of the Lesser Spotted Eagle (Aquila pomarina).

Ștefan Popa Popa ‘S is an important representative of contemporary visual art. For his great talent, precision and speed of work, he has won numerous national and international awards.

The Popa’S Museum is part of the Visual Arts Department of the National Museum of Banat and is located in the Theresia Bastion (in the courtyard of the bastion).

In the museum you can see caricatures, photographs, letters, documents and important awards.

The event includes the exhibition opened at the Maria Theresia Bastion from July 5 to August 31 2022, the street exhibition with information panels in the 18 emblematic locations of the Cetate district, as well as the online, mobile and augmented and virtual reality applications through which the public can find the old and new stories of Timișoara online and can even “travel” in the old Cetate district with the help of virtual reality.

Two artificially deformed skulls, discovered in the archeological site of Freidorf (Timișoara)

Artificial cranial deformity is a habit that is difficult to understand in the current social context, but which has been practiced around the globe for a long time in human history, being described on all continents and dating from prehistory to the present. It is not a characteristic characteristic only of our species, being also discovered in the Neanderthal man from the Shanidar cave (Iraq), who lived about 45,000 years ago.

Reasons for intentional distortion of head shape, as a socio-cultural practice, include ethnic identification, increasing social position within a group, or maintaining beauty standards. As a cosmetic trait, it was practiced both for beauty and for intimidating in battle, the Huns being the best known example of the ancient people who applied artificial cranial deformation to get a sharper look of future warriors, who thus become more terrifying in battle.

Intentional cranial deformity is obtained by various methods applied to children, who have soft and elastic cranial bones. The methods are applied from a few days after birth, up to a few months and even up to 3-5 years, depending on the desired effect.

Cases found in Europe often show a cranial deformity caused by the application of compresses and bandages on the head, resulting in flattening of the forehead. Another popular shape is the conical look obtained with tight bandages, probably based on the belief that a longer skull offers more space for intellectual abilities and memory.

In Europe, this custom was predominantly practiced by the Gepidic, Hun, Sarmatian, Alanic and Gothic tribes, and during the migrations these tribes influenced other populations, but on the Romanian territory it was observed to be practiced only by migrant peoples, without being appropriated by the local ones.

In Romania, archaeologists have discovered several cases that show artificial cranial deformity, belonging predominantly to the Sarmatian, Hunic and Gepidic populations, but also from the early Roman-Byzantine and medieval medieval type of Dridu type.

In Timiș County, 2 cases were discovered in the Timișoara-Freidorf archeological site, presenting this practice, belonging to some gepis. The skull of a 6-7 year old child, who lived in the 5th century AD, was discovered in the archeological research campaign carried out in 2006, and in 2017 another case was discovered, this time present to a woman about 35-40 years old, who also lived in the 5th century AD. Both cases show a deformation made with bandages (annular type), the result being the elongation of the frontal bone and the flattening of the occipital.

Image explanation: center and left: female skull (35-40 years), right: child skull (6-7 years); the dotted red line roughly represents the normal shape of the skull.

Text, photos, design: Ionela Slejiuc

Selective Bibliography:

Simalcsik, A. (2015). “About intentional cranial deformity. reference to the discovery from Fîrlădeni (Causeni district) ”. Preventive Archeology in the Republic of Moldova, (2), 129-138.
Similacsik, A. (2018). “Intentional cranial deformity in Sarmatian communities.” Acta Musei Tudovensis, (14), 91-106.
Gal, S.S. (2011). “Timișoara – Freidorf osteological analysis of human remains”. MARISIA, Studies and Materials, Archeology, (31), 283–289.

Female fruit bowl, secession style

Glazed ceramics, Zsolnay factory in Pécs (Hungary), series 7280, height 24 cm, Visual Arts Department, purchase from 2019

Made in the first decade of the 20th century by the famous Zsolnay factory in Pécs, this piece in the style Szecesszió (in Hungarian) / Jugendstil / Secession (in German) / Art Nouveau (in French) is a product luxury made for an audience with an interest in the decorative arts during the La Belle Époque period.

The Zsolnay factory was founded by Zsolnay Miklós (1800-1880) in southern Hungary in 1853 for the production of ceramic pieces. His son, Zsolnay Vilmos (1828-1900), has been involved in the company’s business since 1863, pursuing a skillful policy for recognizing the quality of Zsolnay products worldwide, by presenting them at major international exhibitions in Vienna (1873) and Paris (1878). ), where he gets important prizes. In 1900, Vilmos’ son Miklós took over the management of the company and launched the production of ceramics in the Art Nouveau style repertoire, Zsolnay becoming the most important company in this field in the eastern part of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy on the eve of World War I.

The Zsolnay fruit bowl features a slender figure of the female figure in motion, the folds of the dress forming the two plates of the fruit bowl with the shape of water lily leaves, the vegetal elements being found in the high waist of the steamy dress and in the crown that adorns the rich hair of the figure. Art Nouveau.

This piece became part of the patrimony of the National Museum of Banat by acquisition from the inheritance of a collector from Timișoara, in whose property the piece was for decades. This doctor bought the Zsolnay fruit bowl from the art market in Timișoara after the end of the Second World War, when many pieces of decorative art were offered for sale by former bourgeois families forced to sell for survival in the Romanian People’s Republic.

Text: Marius Cornea

Photo: Milan Șepețan

Design: Ionela Slejiuc

Beads made of amber, glass, carnelian, limestone, pottery and bone, discovered in the Sarmatian tomb at Gelu (Timiș County)

Since prehistoric times, the decoration of the body with various objects has played an important role in the manifestation of cultural identity, jewelry being worn to mark a certain social status or as amulets. Archaeological discoveries have shaped an image of accessories and their role not very different from today. The main differences are the accessibility of materials in the context of today’s infrastructure, as well as the symbolic significance of the past, when the protective power of amulets mattered more, some with magical inscriptions or special meanings manifested by shapes, materials and colors.

In the Sarmatian tombs are often found beads that are supposed to have been sewn on various clothing items, representing a trend spread throughout the existence of this migratory people.

In 1972, a Sarmatian tomb belonging to a woman was discovered in the commune of Gelu in Timiș County. It was researched by the Banat archaeologist Florin Medeleț, who discovered in the funeral inventory 96 beads deposited in the thoracic area of ​​the skeleton.

The beads discovered are of different shapes, colors and sizes, as well as made of various materials. Among them are 31 amber beads, one of which is tubular and the rest are cylindrical. The 28 glass beads have various shapes (flower, cylindrical, parallelepiped and biconical) and different colors (translucent, white, blue, green, orange or ocher). Another 20 beads were made of carnelian, having the shape of a dark red prism, and 11 tubular beads made of limestone kept the white color of the material. 4 parallel beads made of reddish ceramic and a parallel bead made of yellowish bone were also discovered.

Among the beads discovered, the attention of archaeologists was particularly attracted by the presence of a larger number of amber beads, which were usually present in a smaller percentage in the funerary deposits researched so far. This type of beads appeared in the Carpathian basin from the 2nd to the 5th century, but on the current territory of Banat they are found only in the late period of antiquity (last third of the 3rd century – beginning of the century). IV). Amber beads are considered to be evidence of trade between Sarmatians and northern communities.

Text, design: Ionela Slejiuc

Photo: Andrei Georgescu

Bibliographic reference: Georgescu, A., Bălărie, A. 2017. The story of a Sarmatian grave rescued by Florin Medeleț at Gelu (Variaș comm., Timiș County). SCIVA, volume 68, no. 1–4, Bucharest, pp. 119–137.