The notion of "site" started to be utilized quite late in scientific vocabulary of the Republic of Moldova. Currently, in accordance with Article 1 of 1972 UNESCO Convention "On Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage" and Chapter 1 of the Law of the Republic of Moldova on Protection of Monuments as of 22nd June 1993, the notion of site may be attributed to: human works or works produced as a result of conjugation of human actions and nature, as well as areas including archeological soils, which represent national or international value from historic, aesthetic, ethnographic or anthropological point of view. The aforementioned definition of "site" is applied in the case of "archeological sites". It must not be confused with general notion of "site", defined in usual explanatory dictionaries as a mere sightseeing or a part of a landscape".
Over thirty "archeological sites", pertaining to different historic periods, starting with Superior Paleolithic and ending with Late Middle Age, located on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, have been selected to be included in the catalogue of archeological monuments. A very important role is attributed to archeological sites during the Neolithic period, and in particular to the ones, pertaining to Cucuteni-Tripolie archeological culture, which abounds in decorative works of art of incontestable value. The greatest article is dedicated to the archeological site in Orhei Vechi.
