#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

National flashmob "A light and a loaf of bread" dedicated to the memory of the victims of the famine of 1946-1947 in the Moldavian SSR

April 18, 2026

On April 18, 2026, a national flashmob with the title "A light and a loaf of bread" took place in the courtyard of the National Museum of History of Moldova, a commemorative action dedicated to the victims of the famine of 1946-1947 in the Moldavian SSR. The event was organized by the Association of Former Deportees and Political Prisoners of Moldova in cooperation with the National Museum of History of Moldova, the Metropolitanate of Bessarabia and the Exarchate of the Plains, the Diocese of Southern Bessarabia, the Diocese of Balti, the City Hall of Cahul, the Mieroszewski Center (Poland) and the Hanns Seidel Foundation (Republic of Moldova).

During the event, the general public was informed about the criminal policies of the Soviet state towards the population of the Moldavian SSR in 1946-1947, and in memory of the victims of the famine of 1946-1947, 250 loaves of bread were offered - a symbol of life and hope, as an act of remembrance and recognition of the suffering of those who died with the thought of a piece of bread.

"The famine caused by the Soviet regime in Bessarabia struck at the most sacred values and fundamental rights, trying to break the will of a society and dismantle its traditional structures. Today we set out to speak to the widest possible audience about the history of this tragedy", said the head of the Museum of Victims of Deportations and Political Repressions section within the NMHM, Dr. Ludmila Cojocaru.

"80 years after the tragedy, we have a duty to clearly state the truth: the organized famine of 1946-1947 was not only the consequence of a dry year, but also the result of criminal political decisions of the Soviet totalitarian regime. Commemorating these victims is an act of respect for their memory and, at the same time, a moral duty towards the younger generations, who must know the truth about our past," said Minister Cristian Jardan, present at the event.

"We decided to organize an information campaign about the atrocities that occurred 80 years ago and to hand out a symbol - the bread bun, which represents an alms for those who perished in the famine," said the president of the Association of Former Deportees and Political Prisoners of the Republic of Moldova, Alexandru Postica.

The commemorative action "A Light and a Loaf of Bread" was held simultaneously in the municipalities of Bălți and Cahul, paying tribute to the victims of the famine of 1946-1947 in the Moldavian SSR at the national level.