The archeological works on the cellars of the house of Metropolitan Bishop Gavriil Bănulescu-Bodoni situated on Grigore Vieru Blvd are in full swing and are moving to a new stage. It is presumed that remains of the Church Museum are there and the municipality plans to initiate a project to conserve and museify these valuable archeological traces, IPN reports.

“The team of archeologists continues to attentively explore those cellars in the hope that they will find new signs and evidence of the history and architecture of the building,” said the mayor of Chisinau Ion Ceban.

So far, the vault of a room of the cellars and the vault of access to cellars from the terrace situated behind the building were restored. There were also restored the walls of the foundations in the eastern part of the building, up to the current treading level of the adjoining lot.

“The traces of this remarkable historical building, which is practically the oldest construction in Chisinau, will be examined thoroughly. In this regard, we plan to initiate a project to conserve and museify these valuable archeological traces. The goal of this project is to rehabilitate the memory of the place and to reconstitute the history of these buildings that are particularly important for the history of Chisinau,” stated the mayor.

According to him, the archeological research can also contribute to developing cultural tourism and to promoting the city as a tourist destination.

The archeological excavations began in 2021 under the coordination of professor Sergiu Musteaţă, based on a project designed by architect Mihail Andrieș. The project is implemented by the Chisinau City Hall, the General Architecture, Urbanism and Land Relations Division and the Râșcani district head’s office in cooperation with the Association “Monumentum”.