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.
Ion Ungureanu, a destiny enlightened by the Morning Star
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Keywords: Ion Ungureanu, director, minister, drama, Morning Star.
Abstract: On September 8th, 2015, the National Museum of History of Moldova hosted an exceptional cultural event dedicated to the celebration of the 80th anniversary of prominent cultural figure - Ion Ungureanu, actor and director, ex-Minister of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, Artist of the People, Laureate of the National Award, holder of the Order of the Republic.
The event began with the opening of the exhibition "Ion Ungureanu, a destiny lightened by the Morning Star" bringing together more than 230 photos, documents, books, theater programs and posters, prizes, awards and other relics that reflect important aspects of the life and work of one of the most prominent figures of the national culture.
The artistic activity of actor and director Ion Ungureanu includes 13 roles in theatre plays, 21 roles in radio shows and 27 roles in "Moldova-film" and "Mosfilm" productions. He staged 26 plays in theatre and 8 plays in television.
Theseus, Malvolio, Dr. Dorn, von Walter; "Birds of our Youth", "Holy of Holies" and "White Church" by I. Druță, "Minodora" by A. Strâmbeanu, "Nameless Star" by M. Sebastian, "Radu Stefan, the First and the Last" by A. Bu- suioc - these are just some of the roles and performances that glorified this wonderful actor and director.
In 1970s famous Russian actor Mikhail Ulyanov considered Ion Ungureanu in line with such the greatest directors of the Soviet theater as Georgy Tovstonogov, Iury Liubimov, Anatoly Efros and Oleg Efremov.
The exhibition is a first attempt to valorise through exhibition the cultural and political work of the actor, director and public person Ion Ungureanu. The phenomenon of Ungureanu is yet to be studied, and the lesson of dignity and verticality given by this outstanding personality is yet to be assumed by contemporaries and generations to come.
List of illustrations: 1. The exhibition poster. 2. Debut on the stage of Kremlin Theatre and Vahtangov Theatre. Ion Ungureanu as Alexandru Damian in the play "Wild Flowers" by C. Condrea, 1960. 3. Ion Ungureanu (poet Boris Grădinaru) and Vladimir Zaychuk (driver Toader) in the film "When a person is not in his place", "Moldova-film", 1958. 4. Ion Ungureanu playing inspector Lodze in the film "Favorite", "Moldova-film", 1976. 5. Minister of Culture and Cults Ion Ungureanu at the event of re-opening of the monument to Stefan the Great after its restoration and relocation, August 31, 1990. 6. Sequence from the opening of the exhibition "Ion Ungureanu, a destiny enlightened by the Morning Star". 7. Fragment of the festive event dedicated to the anniversary of the actor and director Ion Ungureanu, National Museum of History of Moldova, September 8, 2015.
Elena Postică
Lawsuits initiated against participants of resistance movement from postwar Moldova
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Postică
From the archives of the former KGB to the possession of the museum. History of one collection
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Postică
Anniversary exhibition “Centenary of Great Romania”
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Postică
Independent Moldova seen through a museum exhibition
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
Elena Postică
The exhibition „Soviet Moldova: Between Myths and the Gulag"
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], 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.
31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
