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.
Mateiaș (Brașov County): the emergence of the monument to the heroes of the First World War
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IX [XXIV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2015
Abstract
In 2014 we celebrate 100 years since the beginning of the First World War and 95 years from the founding of the Society for the Burial of the Heroes Fallen in the War (Mormintele eroilor căzuți în război). On the basis of the law and regulations of the "Cult of Heroes" Society, which was under the patronage of Queen Maria, there was decided to erect monuments, buildings, cemeteries, etc. to perpetuate the memory of the fallen in war or glorify the heroism of Romanians everywhere and at all times. Construction could be carried out by statutory committees of the "Cult of Heroes" Society and by private initiative groups established in accordance with the law.
The idea of creating a monument to the heroes in Mateias, Brasov County originated in 1936 as a result of private initiative and was embodied in the life by the "Cult of Heroes" Society in 1939. Original documents, stored for more than seven decades, tell us how this memorial - a symbol of collective sacrifice made on the "altar" of the Romanian nation - was built.
List of illustrations: 1. Announcement of the ball. 2. The monument project. 3. Monument today.
Cristina Tănase
Participation of the inhabitants of Braşov in the Austro-Hungarian patriotic efforts. The action “Gold gab ich fur Eisen” (“I give gold for iron”)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Cristina Tănase
Charitable activities of the Stroesku’s family in Brașov
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Cristina Tănase
Statutes and decisions on the concession on omnibuses and fiacres in the Brașov County
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Cristina Tănase
Clock on the Tower of the Council House in Braşov: Pages of history
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XII [XXVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Cristina Tănase
Military operations of the 2nd Mountain Division in the territory between the Prut and Bug (July 3 - August 17, 1941)
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.