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.
Anuarul Muzeului Național de Istorie a Moldovei, nr. I
Chișinău, 1992
I. Studii
• Nicolae A. Răilean, Istoria există numai prin adevăr • Nicolae A. Chetraru, Primul arheolog basarabean Ion C. Surucean și primul muzeu de istorie a Moldovei • Grigorie P. Jitaru, Contribuții la istoricul blazonului Basarabilor • Vlad D. Ghimpu, Considerații privind evoluția procesului etnic în Moldova • Mihai Sofronie, Vasile Stroescu, un mare mecenat al românilor transilvăneni • Л.Г. Амшеников, Молдавские поселения на Украине
II. Istorie veche și arheologie
• И.А. Борзияк, А.И. Давид, Т.Ф. Обадэ, Климэуць II – верхне-палеолитическая стоянка с мамонтовой фауной в Приднестровье • О.Г. Левицкий, Е.Н. Савва, Л.Ф. Чобан, Исследование курганного могильника раннего железного века у с. Тринка. • В.Я. Сорокин, Орудия труда и хозяйство племен культуры Прекукутень-Триполъе А на территории Молдовы • Н.В. Гольцева, Два кинжалa-меча эпохи бронзы из собрания Национального музея истории Молдовы • В.П. Хахеу, О гетских памятниках Левобережья Молдовы. • Г.И. Постикэ, Новые данные о средневековом горизонте в Старом Орхее • Natalia N. Mateevici, Colecțiile fondului de arheologie ale Muzeului Național de istorie a Moldovei
III. Istorie
• Mihai P. Onilă, Satele din județele Lăpușna, Orhei și Soroca care au fost închinate mănăstirilor (sec. XV-XVII) • Pavel S. Cocîrla, Unele dale privitoare la administrația ținutului și tîrgului Orhei la sfîrșitul sec. XVI - prima jumătate a sec. XVII • Liuba C. Bîrsan, Pîrcalabii cetăților de pe Nistru în timpul domniei lui Ştefan cel Mare • И.Е. Гончарова, Монеты феодальной Молдовы • В.Б. Букарский, План лагеря Карла XII. Из фондов Национального музея истории Молдовы • Olimpia Palamariu, Monede și medalii din sec. XVII-XIX din colecția Muzeului Hunedoara-Deva • Valentin N. Tomulet, Noi opinii privind dezvoltarea comerțului Basarabiei în prima jumătate a sec. XIX • Ludmila P. Nastase, Spre Nilul Albastru. (Destinul unui basarabean - Petru V. Şciusev). • Măria V. Hasnas, Ziarul Basarabia - cîteva file de arhiva • Elena T. Postică, Contribuții la cercetarea activității administrației românești în Basarabia în primele luni ale Marii Uniri • Virgiliu Teodorescu, Monumentele ridicate în orașul Chișinău în 1918-1940 • О.Ю. Щипакина, Страницы былого • А.А. Кушнир, Оперная певица и педагог Лидия Бабич • А.М. Кракан, Академическая капеллa "Дойна" • Nadejda V. Lavric, Soarta dramatică a orașului basarabean • Д.А. Крупейников, Стали героми на земле Молдовы • И.Ф. Рыжова, Грустная память • Л.А. Репринцева, Депортация 1949 года в Молдавии в коллекциях Музея • Alexei P. Zagaievschi, Satul Cosăuți - file din istorie
IV. Muzeografie și arhivistică
• П.П. Старостенко, Музей Древностей Понта Скифского И.К. Суручана в Кишиневе • Eugenia V. Borodac, Cerințe la descrierea unor categorii de obiecte muzeistice • Gheorghe Rusu, Arhivele Statului din Iași. La 160 de ani de la înființare
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 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.
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.
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.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
