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.
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică Chișinău, 2015
Abstract
The article presents the coin finds discovered in 2014 and in early 2015. One of the most important discoveries of 2014 is a hoard of drachmas from Histria found somewhere in the left bank of the Dniester River. The author cites data on 26 coins from the hoard. This finding is dated the middle of the 3rd century. There are presented several Roman coins issued by Marcus Aurelius (161-180), Elagabalus (218-222), and Philip the Arab, which were found at different times in and around the village of Sauca, Ocnița District. During the spring fi eld work in the village of Gârbovăț (Anenii Noi District) there was found a siliqua issued by Constantius II, which was minted at Antioch and dates back to the period of time between September 9, 337 and the end of 347. This coin is a rarity, at least for Moldova. There are several findings dating to the Middle Ages, including five Moldavian coins of Alexander the Good (groschen and half groschen) and Stephen IV as well as a Polish shilling of John II Casimir, which were discovered near the village of Rădenii Vechi, Ungheni District; coin finds in the area of the Soroca fortress in 2014 and in the spring of 2015; coins found in the village of Ciutești, Nisporeni District, etc. Among the finds from the village Opriseni, Chernivtsi region (Ukraine) there is mentioned a groschen of Peter I Mușat (1375-1391) minted after 1386/1387.
Ana Boldureanu, Adelaida Chiroșca, Elena Revenco
Medieval coin hoard of the 16th century from Parcani, Soroca District, Republic of Moldova
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Ana Boldureanu
The chronicle of monetary discoveries (V)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Ana Boldureanu
Chronicle of monetary discoveries (IV)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Ana Boldureanu
Олександр Огуй, Монетнi знахiдки на Буковинi. Системно-квантитативне зiставлення. Чернiвцi, ЧНУ, 2008, 252 p. + 4 hărți + 4 pl. ISBN 978-966-423-018-3
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Ana Boldureanu
Александр Владимирович Пачкалов, Золотая Орда по данным нумизматических источников. Монография, Москвa: Кнорус, 2018, 180 pp., ISBN 978-5-4365-2528-0
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIII [XXVIII], 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.