EN
Tweets from the PastSlovenian archaeology through sounds, symbols and first written words
13. 10. 2023 to 17. 3. 2024

Tweets from the Past. Slovenian archaeology through sounds, symbols and first written words

Čivki iz preteklosti. Slovenska arheologija skozi zvoke, simbole in prve zapisane besede

13 October 2023 – 17 March 2024, Frankfurt Archaeological Museum, Germany


The exhibition Tweets from the Past. Slovenian archaeology through sounds, symbols and first written words will be created as part of the accompanying events of the International Book Fair in Frankfurt in October 2023, when Slovenia will be the guest of honour there. 

The exhibition will present Slovenian archaeology through objects that, with their sounds, symbols or written words, in addition to the way people lived in the past, reveal to us the slightly deeper dimension of their spirituality, entertainment and explanation of the world around them. Each object included tells a story and was made, handled, treasured, worn, consumed, lost or discarded by someone who lived or wandered through the territory of today's Slovenia. Individual objects, for example whistles, rattles, figurines, objects with Venetian inscriptions, etc., allow access to presentations of important Slovenian sites and to the narrative of the past of Slovenia as narrated through archaeology.


Cooperating museums

  • National Museum of Slovenia (leader and coordinator of the project)
  • Regional Museum Celje
  • Regional Museum Murska Sobota 
  • Regional Museum Ptuj–Ormož 
  • Regional Museum Kranj 
  • Regional Museum Novo mesto 
  • Regional Museum Tolmin
  • Regional Museum Nova gorica 
  • Regional Museum Koper 
  • Muzej in galerije mesta Ljubljane 

Selected exhibition objects

The Neanderthal Flute – the oldest instrument
Female figurine from the Copper Age – a first human depiction from Slovenian territory
Silver offering plaque with inscription in Venetic script – the oldest script from Slovenian territory

The musical instrument found in 1995 in the cave of Divje babe is important evidence on the existence of music already in the Middle Palaeolithic, the period of the Neanderthals. The dating of the layer in which the instrument was found suggests it is between 50,000 and 60,000 years old.
Musical expression is closely connected with the cognitive and linguistic development, hence the flute is also important for our general understanding of the Neanderthals, who are revealed as a species possessing both an artistic sense and symbolic practices.

The figurine of a woman from Nova tabla is well-preserved, highly stylised and of the flat type. The arms are indicated by the slight protrusions in the upper corners of the torso, while a more pronounced protrusion in the centre represents the head. The figurine is decorated on the front and back with elaborate incisions. On the front, they depict the pubic triangle, abdominal cavity, breasts and reproductive organs; the incisions at the lower edge may indicate feet. Those on the back complement a pair of raised features representing the buttocks. The abstract form, small size and decoration suggest that the figurine may have been a magical object used in ritual activities performed to communicate with higher powers or among the members of the community. As such, it conveys the religious and magical ideas of the Copper Age inhabitants of Prekmurje and the wider Pannonian Plain. The explicit depiction of the reproductive organs illustrates the importance of fertility in the prehistoric community living at Nova tabla.

Such plaques were used in shrines and cult sites in areas that formed the northern and north-eastern fringes of the Venetic cultural influence, where it was intertwined with the local Iron Age traditions. Among these regions is Posočje in Slovenia. Roman written sources suggest it was inhabited by a people called the Carni in the Late Iron Age, who may have been of Celtic origin, while the finds with inscriptions in the Venetic script, written in the local, Posočje version, and the non-Celtic names in these inscriptions show the presence of a Venetic, north Adriatic element in the region.
The inscription on the silver plaque from Vrh gradu near Pečine can be interpreted in several ways. Some scholars believe it to be a name composed of the donor's name Voturos, a form of the name Voturi, which Pliny the Elder lists among the names of the Celtic Galatians, and another name derived from the name of the individual’s father, Vol/pl/pknics or Vol/pl/pnijs, a Venetised name of a Celtic origin. Others read the inscription as voturo.s.vo.l.l.(.)k.no.sand do not identify Celtic linguistic elements.