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Stop 18Room 3: masterpieces of Cucuteni figurines
The cult assemblage from Ghelăiești-Nedeia
We near the end of the visit with a discovery that preserves a ritual almost intact. At Ghelăiești, on Nedeia hill in Neamț County, archaeologists led by Ștefan Cucoș excavated a multi-layered settlement between 1969 and 1989.
- Period
- Cucuteni B1, c. 3800–3600 î.Hr.
- Where it is
- Room 3: masterpieces of Cucuteni figurines, first floor
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Narration text
We near the end of the visit with a discovery that preserves a ritual almost intact. At Ghelăiești, on Nedeia hill in Neamț County, archaeologists led by Ștefan Cucoș excavated a multi-layered settlement between 1969 and 1989. In one of the houses, labelled L5, they found a pear-shaped vessel, protected by a larger vessel covering it.
Inside, four figurines were fixed to the wall, facing the four cardinal points. The vessel stood at the centre of a circle of six other painted vessels. Ghelăiești also yielded sanctuary models accompanied by human figurines, and even a hoard of knucklebones deposited in a pot.
We do not know what words were spoken or what gestures were made. But the careful arrangement of the objects reveals an order of the world: the centre, the four directions and the circle. It is one of the clearest glimpses we have of the religion of people who lived almost 6,000 years ago.