#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.

Virtual Tour

International Collaboration

Working visit of Livia Sîrbu, Deputy Director of NMHM to Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan

August 19-27, 2023

The EU4Culture project

Between August 19-27, our colleague Livia Sîrbu, Deputy Director of the National Museum of History of Moldova, visited the city of Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan. The mobility was carried out within the EU4Culture program and aimed at the exchange of experience in the field of museum and cultural management, cultural heritage protection and sustainable development.

The program included several working visits to the National History Museum of Azerbaijan and the National Carpet Museum of Azerbaijan, with the aim of establishing partnership relations with the national museums of Azerbaijan and charting future directions for cooperation. Also, Livia Sîrbu paid a visit to the embassy of the Republic of Moldova in Azerbaijan, where within the discussions with Chargé d'Affaires Mr. Dorin Bolbocean. an activity plan was established for the promotion of national culture and history in the city of Baku, receiving the necessary assurances of the full support of the diplomatic corps.

A first step in establishing the directorate lines of joint partnerships was the signing of a partnership memorandum agreement with the National History Museum of Azerbaijan. During the visit, productive discussions were held with Naila Valikhanly, director of the museum, and Farkhad Jabbarov, deputy director, regarding new challenges in museography, establishing future collaborations both in the field of museography and in the scientific direction. They presented us with the organizational chart of the institution and presented their visions regarding our collaboration in the future. After visiting the permanent exhibition and the historical building, it was agreed on an exhibition project in Chisinau and Baku, where the history, culture and potential of our countries will be presented.

Another important visit, where technology combines with Azerbaijani carpet craftsmanship, took place during the two days of meetings with Mira Mammadkhanova, Deputy Director of Heritage and Aynur Mammadova, Deputy Director of Public Relations, at the National Carpet Museum of Azerbaijan. The discussions focused on the possibility of signing a memorandum of cooperation that will allow us to collaborate in order to organize joint exhibitions, as well as exchanges of experiences and courses for restorers from both museums.

The interaction with the Azerbaijani museological environment allowed the establishment of contacts with colleagues from these museum and research centers, which will contribute to future collaborations both in the field of museology and in that of historical research.

The mobility was funded by the European Union in the framework of the EU4Culture project implemented by the Goethe-Institut, Czech Centers, Danish Cultural Institute and Institut Français de Géorgie.