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.
Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences in Rio de Janeiro - between science and public
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences in Rio de Janeiro (MAST) was opened in 1985 and is now one of the most popular institutions of this type in Brazil. It stores artifacts related to the Brazilian science and technology.
Exhibitions organized by MAST represent a dialogue between astronomy, history, philosophy, and science transposed into museum space through various museum technologies. Currently, the museum is under the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and develops its activities in three main areas: the history of science, museology and heritage, science and education. This is a scientifi c cultural institution, which by its intrinsic elements has a dual purpose: scientific and educational.
Visiting the Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences in Rio de Janeiro, we have found both similarities and differences in approach to the museum organization and public activities.
As a general observation, we can say that the quintessence of the activities of MAST is the interaction with visitors, opening of the scientific community in the fi elds of astronomy and related sciences to society.
List of illustrations:
1. The historical building of the National Astronomical Observatory in Rio de Janeiro, which was opened in 1920 (photo by the author). 2. Pavilion with a telescope on an equatorial mount (source: www.mast.br). 3. Pavilion with a telescope on an equatorial mount (source: www.mast.br). 4. Pavilion with the Bamberg zenith telescope (source: www.mast.br). 5. Pavilion with the Askania zenith telescope (source: www.mast.br). 6. Pavilion with a zenith telescope (source: www.mast.br). 7. Pavilion with a heliograph (source: www.mast.br). 8. Pavilion with a Gautier meridian circle (source: www.mast.br). 9. Museum of Astronomy and Related Sciences in Rio de Janeiro (administrative building) (photo by the author).
Lucia Marinescu-Tonu
Pedagogy of Cultural Heritage: between illusion and reality
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lucia Marinescu-Tonu
The exhibition “In the World of Toys”
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lucia Marinescu-Tonu
Returning to the buckles...
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XVII [XXXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lucia Marinescu-Tonu
Techniques for interpreting cultural heritage in the provinces of Trento and Ferrara
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIV [XXIX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Lucia Marinescu-Tonu
The museum institution in the process of globalization
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], 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.