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. IV [XIX], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
On 11th November 2009 was inaugurated the international exhibition “The Lost World of Old Europe: The Danube Valley, 5000-3500 BC” in the galleries of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World of New York University. The exhibition has brought for the first time before the American public artifacts aged between 5500 and 7000 years old, witnessing the existence of a developed civilization in southeast Europe, in a space surnamed Old Europe, situated on the present territory of Romania, Bulgaria and Republic of Moldova. The exhibition reunites over 250 objects originating from the collections of over 20 museums in Romania, Bulgaria and Republic of Moldova. Among the exhibited objects are fired clay figurines, Cucuteni-Tripolie ceramic vessels, golden adornment objects, copper tools and jewelry, shell jewelry etc. The exhibition was itinerated between May and August 2010 at the prestigious British museum The Ashmolean Museum from Oxford University and will be displayed in October 2010 – January 2011 at the Cycladic Museum of Art in Athens, Greece.
Iulia Postică
Museum exhibition – a means to valorize the archaeological heritage
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
Iulia Postică
Legislative aspects regarding the protection of the archaeological heritage in the Republic of Moldova (1945-2007)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Iulia Postică
Data from the museification of Orheiul Vechi
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Iulia Postică
Public archaeology of museum complex Orheiul Vechi
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică Chișinău, 2007
Gheorghe Postică, Iulia Postică
Considerations regarding the museum policies within the complex Orheiul Vechi and future perspectives
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], 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.