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.
Archeological researches conducted in 2006 at the Thracian-Getian settlement Saharna „La Şanț”
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică Chișinău, 2007
During the archaeological researches conducted near Saharna and Saharna Noua villages a new fortified settlement was discovered – Saharna “La Şanț”. It is located eastward of the fortified settlement Saharna Mare, on the steep bank of a deep ravine. The site of ancient settlement is semi-oval shaped, 180×65 m in size.
The settlement was protected by the steep bank of the ravine on the north side and by a defense construction on the west, east and south sides. Five household pits containing various ceramic material were discovered following archeological researches conducted in 2006. Four spinning spindles, fragment of a stone grain grater and numerous fragments of ceramic vessels were discovered in the cultural layer of the settlement. The discovered inventory can be dated with the 6th-3rd c. BC.
Ion Niculiță, Aurel Zanoci, Mihail Băț, Sergiu Matveev
Archaeological research on the site of Saharna Mare (2009-2012) (II)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Aurel Zanoci
Zur Typologie und Entwicklung der Befestigungsanlagen östlich der Karpatengebirge im 12./11.-3. Jh. v. Chr.
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Aurel Zanoci
Typology and evolution of gates and access into early hallstattian fortresses in Tisa-Dniester space
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică Chișinău, 2015
Ion Niculiță, Aurel Zanoci, Mihail Băț
Geospatial and archaeological research in the micro-zone of Horodiște-Tipova
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Ion Niculiță, Aurel Zanoci, Mihail Băț, Sergiu Matveev
Archaeological investigations at the site of Saharna Mare (2009-2011) (I)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
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.