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.
From the history of a private school for girls in Bălți
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Based on the analysis of archival documents the article reflects the history and activity of the girls' school of A.L. Chudnahovskaia - E.I. Genshke in Bălți.
In the development of the school there are three stages. According to archival sources of 1884, it was established instead of a second category school (four-year training system) headed by Zinaida Negruș.
Due to financial difficulties the school was closed after ten years of operation. Parents of children enrolled in it appealed to local authorities through an official I.A. Marandich to request the continuation of the school, as they are unable to send their children to schools located in other cities. After several consultations with teachers from local schools, I.A. Marandich asked Augustina Chudnahovskaia, the former teacher of French and German from the Negruș's school, to get permission from the Department of Public Education to open a new school similar to the previous one. Thanks to perseverance of the director of popular schools P.C. Borzakovekov, it was decided to open in Bălți a similar four-year school.
The new school began its work on 5 September 1894. The teaching staff was formed from the former school's teach- ers working more on enthusiasm than for money. The amount of money left of the school fees was equally shared among all the teachers. At the beginning of their activities they were paid 5-6 rubles a year for a teaching subject. Their work brought good results. For 10 years of its activity the school had 270 students, 77 of which attended the full course of study. On average, each year the school had an enrollment of up to 27 students.
The greatest difficulties in the development of this institution emerged during its reorganization in a gymnasium. The first query on the matter was sent to the authorities in 1899, but was not satisfied. Subsequent attempts in 1901 also failed. Only in 1904, the school was reorganized in a progymnasium for girls providing four-year courses. Later, in 1908, the progymnasium was reorganized in a gymnasium school providing seven-year courses. In the archival docu- ments the school appears under two names - the gymnasium of A.L. Chudnahovskaia and the lyceum of E.I. Genshke.
Tatiana Chicaroș
School of exact science activity in Chișinău in period of 1873-1918
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Tatiana Chicaroș
Some considerations on the evolution of secular and religious education in Bessarabia in the 19th century - beginning of the 20th century
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Tatiana Chicaroș
L’évolution de l’enseignement de lycée en Bessarabie sous la domination tsariste (1833-1917)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Tatiana Chicaroș
The role of Bessarabian private schools in the educational system of the Russian Empire in the second half of the 19th - early 20th century
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Tatiana Chicaroș
Development of secondary education in Bessarabia in 1833-1871
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
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.