Some landmarks regarding the first museological initiatives on the lower Danube. I. Galaji area

Unfortunately, a tragic event - the assassination of Prime Minister Armand Cдlinescu - meant the withdrawal of the Royal Resident in Bucharest, severely affected, so that the development that archaeological research tended to know in the area of southern Moldova and northern Dobrogea, was, for moment, off.

We know only one inventory of the fund raised at the office of the Royal Residence, and this is also due to M. Petrescu-Dоmbovifa, requested by Constantin C. Giurescu in this regard. The latter also offered its support for the publication of the inventory, although at that time he had been appointed minister of the National Renaissance Front. Of course, some pieces remained unpublished, arriving at the Residence after the above inventory. An example of this is the report on the delivery- receipt of the mentioned fund63, «remained in the custody of the Prefecture of Covurlui and which was destined for the <Cuza Vodд>museum in the locality», which mentions on July 11, 1942 that «the following objects were also entrusted to the Museum, later brought to the Residence and therefore not included in the inventory compiled by Mr. Petrescu-Dmbovpa.

3/. A Romanian copper coin from the time of Catherine II, found in the same commune»;

«Are missing:

These two objects were taken by Mr. Mircea Petrescu Dmbovpa, against receipt and taken to Bucharest to be studied, and will be returned to the Covurlui Prefecture, respectively to the <Cuza Vodд> Museum».

For many other archaeological pieces that arrived through the Royal Residence at «Villa Cuza Vodд», no other clarifications can be made, except that they come from the north of Dobrogea. Of course, the hypothesis that they should belongs to the sites funded for research by the administrative forum of the Lower Danube is justified, but we do not have data to confirm it. The lack of documentation regarding this material had urged the directors of the Galati museum institution to send on September 26, 1958 to the Institute of Archaeology in Bucharest the address no. 458, with the following content64: «our museum is in possession of a rich archaeological material (Roman and early feudal) from the excavations carried out in northern Dobrogea before August 23, 1944, as we are informed by Prof. Avachian et al. In order to identify this material, it would be necessary for Prof. Avachian, a collaborator of your Institute, to travel to Galap. Even if he is no longer in possession of the documentation from the respective sites, we consider that he could specify the origin of the objects by localities (place of discovery). In order to capitalize and exhibit the archaeological material shown above in the basic exhibition of our museum, please make us our interpreter next to Prof. Avachian, asking him to please travel to Galati for the purpose shown above. The costs of transport and accommodation concern our museum. Undoubtedly, the publication of the material in question is reserved for Prof. Avachian».

As it can be already guessing, the Royal Residence fund is not individualized in any way within the patrimony, obviously extended, of the current History Museum from Galati, although, at least apparently, it is somehow easier to reconstruct due to the publications of Mircea Petrescu-Dоmbovifa. Today, in the context of the resettlement of Romanian historiography, but also of museum principles, which tend to focus especially on smaller spaces, such as regional or local, it would be necessary to systematically present the archaeological collections of the History Museum from Galafi, especially of what, traditionally, is called the «old fund», and which, for most of the pieces, has at least a minimum of information, which can be reconstructed with the help of the documentary archive. Of course, such an approach is also tributary to some somewhat reparative joints related to the «prehistory» of Galali museology and of course, as I suggested, in homage to the coryphaeus of the field.

Literature

1. «Buletinul Tinutului Dunдrea de Jos». I. no. 22-23. 1939. pp. 4-5.

2. «Drapelul». February 4. 1899.

3. «Dreptatea». January 1899.

4. «Ecoul Moldovei». September 25. 1897.

5. «Patriotul». February 8. 1898.

6. «Universul». no. 209-210. October 29-30. 1899.

7. «Vointa Galatilor». April 29. 1898.

8. «Tribuna Liberalд». no. 1573. March 4. 1907.

9. According Galati County Directorate of National Archives (below we will quote as DJANG). fund: Primдria orasului Galafi. 1921. file no. 20.

10. Al. Pдunescu, I. Cassan-Franga, P. Diaconu, Inceputurile arheologiei romвnesti. Istoricul Muzeului National de Antichitдti, in Studii si Cercetдri de Istorie Veche si Arheologie. 35. no. 1, 1984. pp. 25-28.

11. Apud N. Oprea. op. cit.. p. 434.

12. Archive of the History Museum of Galati, unpaged, non-inventoried document, written at 23.02.1976.

13. Asociatia Casa «Cuza Vodд». Actul constitutiv. Statutele, Galafi, 1937, 15. On July 14, the constitutive act and the statute of the «Cuza Vodд» House were submitted to the Covurlui county court for authentication, According DJANG. fund: Primдria municipiului Galafi. file 17/1939. p. 35.

14. BVAU Archive. file XXXIII. 1903, f. 60, 62-67, 73-76. See full text at N. Oprea. op. cit., pp. 417-425.

15. Costin Croitoru (editor), Pagini din trecutul muzeografiei gдlдtene.... p. 14. p. 15, p. 94, pp. 89-90, pp. 101-102, p. 116 document no. 1, no. 4, no. 154, no. 148-149, no. 157, no. 160

16. Costin Croitoru Muzeul Brдilei «Carol I». Romania.

17. Costin Croitoru, Cдlдtorie de cercetare arheologicд in judetul Covurlui, in V. Spinei, N. Ursulescu, V. Cotiugд (editors), Orbis Praehistoriae. Mircea Petrescu- Dоmbovifa - in memoriam, Publishing House of «Al. I. Cuza» University. Iasi. 2015. pp. 645-655.

18. Costin Croitoru, Mircea Petrescu-Dоmbovita si оnceputul cercetдrilor arheologice in sudul Moldovei, in Costin Croitoru, Cristina Bodlev (editors), Despre оnceputul cercetдrilor arheologice la Dunдrea de Jos (I). Contributiile lui Mircea Petrescu- Dоmbovita. Istros Publishing House. Brдila. 2018. pp. 15-56.

19. DJANG. fund: Primдria municipiului Galafi, file 22/1923, no. 16/1939, no. 16/1939, 17bis/1939,pp. 3-4, p. 11, pp. 15-16, 477.

20. T. Dragomir, V. A. Urechia, istoric, publicist, colectionar si muzeograf, in Danubius, VI-VII, 1972-1973, pp. 179-192.

21. Incidentally, the archaeological sites identified on this occasion later became systematic sites that provided an extremely significant heritage, see Costin Croitoru, Galafi. O bibliografie arheologicд si numismaticд, Istros Publishing House (Romanian Academy. Commission for the History of Romanian Cities), Brдila, 2012, passim; Idem, Galafi. Repertoriul descoperirilor arheologice si numismatice, Publishing House of the History Museum, Galafi, 2013, passim. As a «case study» see also Idem, Cвteva documente inedite referitoare la situl arheologic «Cetдfuia» de la Stoicani (judeful Galafi), in Memoria Antiquitatis, XXXI-XXXII (2015-2016), 2016, pp. 319-330.

22. Ion Gheletchi, Universitatea de Stat «B.P. Hasdeu» din Cahul, Republica Moldova Ion T. Dragomir, Dezvoltarea muzeisticд in Galafi, in Revista Muzeelor, VII, no. 1, 1970, pp. 35-39; Sorina Caloian, Institutiile muzeale gдlдtene. Istoric, actualitate, perspective, in Stefan Stanciu, Costin Croitoru (editors), Perspective asupra istoriei locale in viziunea tinerilor cercetдtori gдlдteni, volume I, Istros Publishing House, Galati, 2005, pp. 125-135; Stefan Stanciu, Costin Croitoru, Despre unele preocupдri muzeale si arheologice la Galati, in Costin Croitoru (editor), Perspective asupra istoriei locale in viziunea tinerilor cercetдtori, volumul III, Istros Publishing House, Galati, 2007, pp. 235255.

23. Ionel Cвndea, Costin Croitoru (editors), Documente privind istoria Brдilei. Rдspunsurile la chestionarele Odobescu si Hasdeu pentru judetul Brдila, Istros Publishing House, Brдila, 2015.

24. Leon E§anu, Infiintarea muzeului «Cuza Vodд» in orasul Galafi, in Cercetдri Istorice, IV, 1973, p. 40.

25. Leontin Negru, Istoricul Constantin C. Giurescu in functia de Rezident Regal al Tinutului Dunдrea de Jos, in Stefan Stanciu, Costin Croitoru (editors), Perspective asupra istoriei locale in viziunea tinerilor cercetдtori gдlдteni. I. 2005. Istros Publishing House. Galati. 2005. pp. 99-112.

26. Lucia Bor§, Biblioteca V. A. Urechia, in Boabe de grвu, III, 1932, p. 348; Nedelcu Oprea, Biblioteca publicд «V. A. Urechia» Galafi. Monografie, volume II, Galati, 2006, p. 408.

27. Mircea Petrescu-Dоmbovifa, Cдlдtorie de cercetare arheologicд in judeful Covurlui (24 aprilie-14 mai 1939), in Orizonturi. Revista Asociafiei Profesorilor Secundari din Galafi, III, no. 5-9 (1940), 1941, pp. 3-23 (= Idem, Archдologische Forschungsreise in Bezirk Covurlui (Untere Moldau), in Dacia, VII-VIII (1937-1940), 1941, pp. 427-447). Both materials are also to be found at Costin Croitoru, Cristina Bodlev (editors), op. cit., pp. 85-106 respectively pp. 107-132.

28. Mircea Petrescu-Dоmbovita, Inventarul materialului arheologic dela Rezidenta Regalд din Galati, Bucuresti, 1940. The material is also to be found at Costin Croitoru, Cristina Bodlev (editors), op. cit., pp. 133-156.

29. Mircea Petrescu-Dоmbovita, Multumiri si recunostintд, in Arheologia Moldovei, XXVIII, 2005, p. 36.

30. Mircea Petrescu-Dоmbovita, Rдspunsurile mvдtдtorilor din judetul Covurlui la Cestionarul lui Alexandru Odobescu, in «Actiunea» (Galati), April 1939.

31. See for example Costin Croitoru, Mдrturii asupra constiintei romanitдtii la romвni, reflectate in publicatiile secolului al XIX-lea, in Danubius, XXV, 2007, pp. 95-104.

32. See for their activity in the field Costin Croitoru (editor), Pagini din trecutul muzeografiei gдlдtene, Acte, documente, corespondentд si note, Istros Publishing House, Brдila, 2009, passim (this article is a variant of the introductory study of the mentioned volume, see ibidem, pp. XVII-XXXVIII).

33. See Gr. Trancu-Ia§i, Casa lui Cuza Vodд, in Actiunea. IX. no. 2369. April 24. 1938.

34. See in this matter A. Popa, V. A. Urechia - istoric. Galati. 2001. pp. 127-128.

35. See Paul Pдltдnea Cвteva date despre оnceputurile orasului Galati, in Anuarul Institutului «A. D. Xenopol». Iasi. 1969. p. 134,

36. The Archive of the Library «V. A. Urechia» (below we will quote as BVAU Archive). file XXXI. 7-9 r/v. 1901.

37. V. Goia V. A. Urechia. Bucuresti. 1979. p. 85.

38. V. S. Pisicд Cum a devenit monument istoric «Casa Cuza Vodд» din Galati. in Danubius. XVIII. 2001. pp. 181-183.