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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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Events Archive

European Night of Museums 2017

May 20, 2017

The event was held under the slogan: "Common hobbies: museum collections gather enthusiasts"   

This year the program of the Night of Museums was held from 12:00 to 24:00, and included:

12.00-24.00
Visiting the museum's permanent and temporary exhibitions ("History and Civilization", "Treasures of the Past", "Soviet Moldova - between Myths and the Gulag", Diorama of the Iași-Chișinău Operation, "Weapons and Military Equipment - Evolution throughout Centuries", "The Clock in the Course of Time", "Scale Models Expo Chișinău 2017").

12.00-24.00, the yard
"RETRO AUTO MOTO" - exhibition of collectible cars (ZIL-41047, GAZ-14 Chaika) and motorcycles. Participants: Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, Club „Dacii Liberi RC"

12.30-23.00, the ground floor
Cinema Magic in the Night of Museums. Screening of documentary films within the framework of the CRONOGRAF International Festival and showing cartoons produced by FLORICICA and MOLDOVA-FILM studios. Meetings with filmmakers and cartoonists. The event supported by OWH Studio

13.00-18.00, the ground floor
Model building and robotics workshops. Participants: The Robotics Club of the Republican Center for Children and Youth ARTICO, model builders from Chișinău

14.00-15.00, the yard
Musical choreographic performance by the art groups of the Center for Aesthetic Education "Lăstărel" (Vocal ensembles "Tinerețe Floare", "Solo", and "Ell by star", vocal-choral section "Allegria", ensemble of folk dance "Brâuleț", and ensemble of Spanish dance "Flamenco")

15.00-19.00, the yard
Interactive activities for enthusiasts of history and military traditions, supported by the Stephen the Great Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Moldova: workshops, games, the show "From the Kin of the Brave", demonstration of arms handling (18:00)

15.30-18.00, Blue Room / the ground floor
Musical moments in the exhibition rooms: choral music (15:30, Blue Room), string instruments (16:00, ground floor), metallophone (16:45, Blue Room), piano (17:30, Blue Room). Participants: Center for Aesthetic Education "Laštarel", Maria Bieșu Music School

19.00-22.00, the yard
Mysteries of Music. An extraordinary concert of the Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dumitru Cîrciumaru, with the participation of Mariana Bulicanu, Ana Cernicova, Ion Timofti, Tania Cerga, Andrei Glavan, Cristina Pintilie, Marcel Roșca, Lilian Severin, Tatiana Vârlan, Olga Vlaicu, and Vasile Tinei. The event is supported by the Department of Culture of the Chisinau City Hall

23.30
Flashmob "The Museum in My Heart"


Partners:






 

 


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
  
September 25, 2025 – September 1, 2026
 
Over 2500 pieces made of precious metals with historic, artistic and symbolic value
  

Come to Museum! Discover the History!
  
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Summer schedule: daily
10am – 6pm.

Winter schedule: daily
10am – 5pm.
Closed on Mondays.
Entrance fees:  adults - 50 MDL, Pensioners, students - 20 lei, pupils - 10 MDL. Free access: enlisted men (...)

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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

menu
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