#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.

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

Launch of the "PAIN IN REFUGEES" exhibition

February 24, 2023

On February 24, in the premises of the National Museum of History of Moldova, the exhibition "PAIN IN REFUGEES" was launched.

The exhibition was organized by the team of the Society for the Study and Combat of Pain from the Republic of Moldova, and aimed to sensitize the population and outline the fact that pain affects every aspect of human life. The results of the study conducted on the basis of 264 respondents, suffering from acute and chronic pain but also from the psychological impact of war attributes, were presented. The idea of the biological association of colors with pain was projected onto a white canvas; visitors were invited to paint in the colors with which they associate pain.

Burmistr Iana, the president of the Society for the Study and Combat of Pain: "Together with Mr. Professor Dmytro Dmitriyev from Vinnytsia, the president of the Ukrainian Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Therapy, we cordially greet you and are grateful to you for agreeing to be present at this event, generated, unfortunately, by sad reasons. Exactly one year ago, the Russian Federation attacked Ukraine unawares, in its desire to seize territory, exterminate the Ukrainian people and suppress freedoms, rights, democracy and the desire to have a decent living, together with the other peoples of the United Europe". In this context, the participants held a minute of silence for the Heroes of Ukraine and for those who were deprived of the joy of life by the invaders.

Olesea Şevcenco, wife of E.S. Marko Shevchenko, the Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Moldova: "We are grateful to the citizens of the Republic of Moldova for helping Ukraine beyond words in these difficult moments. Please do not tire of helping the Ukrainian people, because the war continues, and now more than ever we need support and shelter."

During the event, Livia Sîrbu, deputy director of NMHM, Maura Reap - World Health Organization, Angela Capcelea - UNICEF, Katri Koch - Swiss Cooperation, project collaborators: Alexia Caisîn and Victor Ghereg took part in the event.

At the end of the event, those present at the launch of the exhibition participated in the creation of a painting on this occasion. The obtained painting will be donated to the Embassy of Ukraine in Moldova, to immortalize this event.

The exhibition "PAIN IN REFUGEES" can be seen between February 24 and March 12, 2023, on the fence of the National Museum of History of Moldova, 31 August 1989 str., 121A.

#Exhibit of the Month

Ceramic Vessel Set from Bălceana-Hâncești (5th–7th Centuries)

Launch of the "PAIN IN REFUGEES" exhibition

February 24, 2023

#Exhibit of the Month