100 years – 100 artefacts

In the traditional village, agriculture played a central role in the life of the community, being one of the main occupations which developed in connection with the features and geographical position of the agricultural lands.

The negative on glass made by Romulus Vuia, in the period 1910-1923, in Hunedoara county, captures ploughlands in terraces, which represent a spectacular element of mountainous agriculture. The terraces which look like very large steps, of different sizes, a result of ploughing by wooden plough with a changing digger plough, made over time, are commonly used to increase the capacity of a sloping, hilly or mountainous field. Terracing, which started from the upper level, following the contours, is a method used since antiquity and it offers the possibility of maximum use of agricultural land, while also preventing landslides.

The negative, registered with title “Ploughlands in terraces”, with inventory no. 219, is made on glass support, in the dry gelatin technique, having the dimensions of 9 cm x 12 cm.

Photo: MET Archive