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#Exhibit of the Month

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The ceramic vessel set was discovered accidentally in October 2025 in the southwestern part of the village of Bălceana, Hâncești District, approximately 1.2 km from the Lăpușnița River. The archaeological materials were recovered by the National Archaeological Agency.

The ceramic assemblage consists of a large storage vessel (pithos) with a capacity of 20 litres (h = 39.2 cm; d = 35.0 cm), decorated with a raised band below the rim; a medium-sized bowl with a capacity of 2.5 litres (h = 16.9 cm; d = 23.2 cm); a medium-sized jug with a capacity of 0.6 litres (h = 12.0 cm; d = 13.4 cm); and the base of a jar-shaped vessel.

The coarse handmade pottery was produced using the coil-building technique, by stacking and shaping coils of clay prepared from a paste tempered with crushed fired clay (grog) and sand. The vessel surfaces are uneven and covered with a yellowish-red slip featuring black patches, while the core of the vessel walls is black in colour.

The three vessels preserved intact display well-defined biconical shapes, with their maximum diameter at the middle of the body and straight or slightly oblique rims with rounded edges. Pottery of this type is characteristic of the Early Medieval cultural area of the northern and northwestern Black Sea region, dating from the 5th to the 7th centuries. East of the Dniester River, on the territory of present-day Ukraine, analogous pottery is found in Penkovka-type settlements, while in the Carpathian-Dniester region it is characteristic of settlements belonging to the Costișa-Botoșana-Hansca cultural group.

Within the Prut-Dniester region, coarse biconical pottery is generally represented by fragments and only relatively rarely by complete vessels, such as those discovered at Hansca, Dănceni, Recea, Seliște, Păhărniceni, and other sites. This type of pottery constituted an indispensable component of the local material culture during the 5th-7th centuries. In this context, the discovery at Bălceana of an almost intact set of coarse biconical vessels represents a relatively rare find of considerable scientific importance.

According to certain hypotheses, the tradition of coarse biconical pottery dating to the 5th-7th centuries originated in the North Pontic region. At the same time, it cannot be ruled out that these biconical ceramic vessels were the result of contemporary ethnocultural interactions, developing simultaneously across the vast territory extending from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dnieper River and the Seversky Donets.

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Collections

Development of Collections

During the 2020-2024 period, the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova were enriched with a total of 10,476 items. These items were acquired through various means: donations, acquisitions, and confiscations from customs.
The annual distribution is as follows:
o 2020 - 2,897 cultural goods
o 2021 - 1,376 cultural goods
o 2022 - 1,506 cultural goods
o 2023 - 2,465 cultural goods
o 2024 - 2,232 cultural goods 
The museum's heritage has recently been enhanced with a series of valuable and diverse objects. These include archaeological pieces, contemporary Moldovan coins, photographs, and documents reflecting the lives of deportees. The museum also received a collection of medals and personal objects belonging to Simion Odainic (1938-2023). He is known as the author of the state distinctions of the Republic of Moldova, established in 1992, as well as other important phaleristic and heraldic insignia, inscribed in the General Armorial of the Republic of Moldova.

Furthermore, the heritage was supplemented with an impressive collection of unused Romanian postage stamps from the period 1948-1964. This collection was donated by the Romanian collector Ilie Picioruș, residing in Bucharest



The number of exhibits in the Museum collections is permanently growing through donations, acquisitions, field research and transfers. Thus, in 2009 the collections were enriched with 1,538 objects of historical and artistic significance, including 1,042 archaeological objects, 92 numismatic pieces, 29 photographs, 24 documents, 4 objects of weapon and military equipment, 95 ethnographic and household items, 13 objects of technical equipment, 29 objects of decorative art, 5 paintings, 70 philatelic objects, and 135 objects classified to “miscellanea”.

Among the most valuable items entered the collections, we can mention:
  • Roman coins, 2nd century;
  • dirhams, Golden Horde, 14th century;
  • Gospel, Bucharest, 1750;
  • ecclesiastic vestments, Bessarabia, early 19th century;
  • measure units, Russia, 1857;
  • photographs and household items from the painter Nicolae Coleadici’s family;
  • documents and photographs that belonged to the member of the Country Council Ion Pantaru’s family;
  • clothing that belonged to the composer Zlata Tcaci.  

In the period 2012-2013 the heritage of the National Museum of History of Moldova was enriched with 9389 pieces, including 4087 in the main collection. The objects entered the museum collections through donations (2442), acquisitions (157) and transfer from the former Museum of Archaeology of ASM (6214) and State Treasury of Republic of Moldova (576).

The main museum heritage collection was increased with 5087 objects, including: 2538 archaeological items, 536 numismatic objects, 88 ethnographic and usual objects, 9 technical objects, 79 photographs, 93 documents, 108 paintings, 208 pieces of decorative art, 120 philately objects, 2 furniture objects and 296 marked with „other".       

Among most valuable objects which enriched the heritage of the Museum in the years 2012 - 2013 are:

- Little amphora, burned clay, 2nd century BC;
- Amphora, end of 6th - beginning of 5th century AD;
- Roman coins from the treasury of Goleni, Cantemir raion, 3rd-4th centuries AD;
- Medieval coins discovered at Costești, Ialoveni raion, 14th-15th centuries;
- Treasury from the Late Bronze period, Noua-Coslogeni culture (14th-12th centuries BC);
- Collection of copper coins, Golden Hoard, Costești, 14th century;
- Brass vessels, 14th-17th centuries;
- Decorative fragments for clothing discovered at the archaeological excavations from Căpriana Monastery;
- Chimney clocks, office lamp, Western Europe, 19th century;
- Porcelain statuettes, Western Europe, 19th century;
- Book Город Кишинев времен жизни в нем А.С. Пушкина(1820-1823), Ioan Halippa, Chișinău, 1899;
- Romanian-Russian dictionary by Nicolae Popovschi, Chișinău, 1922;
- Ladies hats, 40ies and 50ies of 20th century;
- Collection of „Basarabia" newspapers, September 28th, 1941 - October 20th, 1941;
- Photos and letters from the front which belonged to Grigore Crivonosov from v. Macovei, 1944;
- Collection of photos about the deportations from Bessarabia in the summer of 1949;
- Collection of decorative bells, 1978-2011;
- Collection of objects, books, sketches and paintings signed by painter E. Childescu.


Between 2014 and 2015 the museum heritage has increased by 6 578 pieces, including 2 530 in the main collection. They entered the museum through donations, purchases, transfer from the former Museum of Archaeology of ASM and the State Treasury of the Republic of Moldova.

In the main collection of museum heritage were included new and valuable archaeological objects (1401), numismatic pieces (243), photos (103), documents (57), decorative art objects (103), clothing and accessories (29), technical objects (27), weapons (15), furniture objects (29) etc. Among the most valuable cultural assets that have enriched the museum collections are to be mentioned:

- Documents written in Romanian language, published in Bessarabia in the years 1815-1828;
- Kettle with burner, teapot and sugar bowl, England, 19th century;
- Sewing machine „Phoenix", Germany, beginning of 20th century;
- Documents, photos, and personal objects reflecting the life and activity of film director and screen writer Valeriu Gagiu;
- Materials about the activity of the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Moldova.



 

 


Independent Moldova
Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic
Bessarabia and MASSR between the Two World Wars
Bessarabia and Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic in the Period between the Two World Wars
Revival of National Movement
Time of Reforms and their Consequences
Abolition of Autonomy. Bessarabia – a New Tsarist Colony
Period of Relative Autonomy of Bessarabia within the Russian Empire
Phanariot Regime
Golden Age of the Romanian Culture
Struggle for Maintaining of Independence of Moldova
Formation of Independent Medieval State of Moldova
Era of the
Great Nomad Migrations
Early Middle Ages
Iron Age and Antiquity
Bronze Age
Aeneolithic Age
Neolithic Age
Palaeolithic Age
  
  

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#Exhibit of the Month

The ceramic vessel set was discovered accidentally in October 2025 in the southwestern part of the village of Bălceana, Hâncești District, approximately 1.2 km from the Lăpușnița River. The archaeological materials were recovered by the National Archaeological Agency...

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

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The National Museum of History of Moldova takes place among the most significant museum institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in terms of both its collection and scientific reputation.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC