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.
Some considerations regarding the designing of a permanent exposition of the history museum
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Following the reorganization of the Archaeology Museum of the Science Academy and the National History Museum and creation of the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova it became necessary to elaborate and create a new permanent exposition.
The article analyses the methods and principles of exposition projection, their development and argues the necessity and timeliness to create a new museum’s permanent exposition.
The author places high emphasis on the issue of displaying modern history in an exposition and believes it’s necessary to create a thematic exposition based on modern information technologies.
And there is no exposition without scientific reconstructions. The future exposition focuses attention on the role of the artist in the projection of an exposition, union of an artist and a museologist.
The author is confident that creation of a convincing, scientific and interesting exposition will help attract more visitors and enable them to understand the most important events in Moldovan history from ancient times till the present day.
Elena Ploșnița
The Country House of the Lazo Family at Piatra. Guidelines for the museumification
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XI [XXVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Ploșnița
Museology: an academic discipline or form of cultural activity?
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Ploșnița
Moments of reference from the activity of the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. III [XVIII], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Ploșnița
On the strategy of development of museums in the Republic of Moldova
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie
Elena Ploșnița, Tatiana Buianina
The cost of a visit to the museum: Analysis of a survey
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.