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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.

Virtual Tour




Heraldica Moldaviae, Vol. 6, 2023

Chişinău : [S. n.], 2024 (Lexon-Prim). ISBN 978-9975-87-449-6. 304 p.

STUDIES AND PAPERS


Ana BOLDUREANU

Medieval Western European Leads for Fabrics, Discovered in the Republic of Moldova (16th-17th Centuries) (II)


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC, Tudor CIOBANU

A new document from 1815 with the seal of the Divan of the Principality of Moldavia


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC

The new Bessarabian noble seals of the old Moldavian boyars after 1812


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC, Sergius CIOCANU

Deciphering the Vâlcov seal from the early 19th century


Drăgan-George BASARABĂ

The reward of loyalty. Ennoblements of the leaders of the Paşoptist revolution in Transylvania


Tudor-Radu TIRON

The heraldic ex-libris of diplomat Vasile N. Krupenski


Tudor-Radu TIRON

An unknown project that is an emblem of Bucharest


Alexandru DANEȘ

Coat of arms projects for counties and municipalities established in the Socialist Republic of Romania after 1972


Ileana CĂZAN

Carelessness, ill will and violation of the law in territorial heraldry. Case study: Brașov, Constanța and Cluj municipalities


Andrii GRECILO

The problems of the new Ukrainian local territorial heraldry, on the example of the symbols of the villages on the border with Romania


Ihor IANUŞKEVÎCI

Author's coats of arms, officialized in the Chernivtsi region


Tudor-Radu TIRON

The memory of 1848 reflected in the new administrative-territorial heraldry


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC

Commemorative cross "Participant in the combat actions for the defense of the integrity and independence of the Republic of Moldova (1991-1992)"


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC

Territorial emblems: from toponymy to heraldry


IN HONOREM


Oxana DIACONU-CATAN

Alexei Colîbneac at 80


IN MEMORIAM


Angela FURTUNĂ

Simion Odainic (* September 1, 1938 – † June 27, 2023). Portrait of a Heraldic Artist


REVIEWS, NOTES AND PRESENTATIONS


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC

Bogdan Crețu, Inorogul la Porțile Orientului. Bestiarul lui Dimitrie Cantemir, ediția a II-a, Chișinău: Editura Cartier, 2021, 661 p., („Cartier Popular”)


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC

Decorațiile României. Legi, decrete, hotărâri și alte acte normative, autori- alcătuitori Simion Câlțea, Tudor-Radu Tiron, vol. I-III, București: Editura Universității din București, 2022


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC

Daniela Dâmboiu, Catalog al siglelor meșterilor aurari din Transilvania (secolele XVI-XIX), Sibiu/ Hermannstadt: Editura Muzeului Național Brukenthal, 2023, 191 p.: il.


CHRONIC


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC

The heraldry cabinet at a decade of activity


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC, Ana BOLDUREANU, Lucia MARINESCU

Exhibition of everyday armorial objects "With coats of arms at the table - in the world and at home...", Chisinau, National Museum of History of Moldova, March 30 - April 28, 2023


Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC

17th Heraldry Symposium, Chisinau, April 27, 2023


Mihai-Bogdan ATANASIU, Silviu ANDRIEȘ-TABAC

XIXth Congress of Genealogy and Heraldry, Iași, May 11-13, 2023


 



 

 

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

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