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.
Stone scepters belonging to the Bronze Age, discovered in Suceava County
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. V [XX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
This study presents three stone objects discovered in the Suceava city’s area (Suceava County), Romania. One of them is new, and it was discovered in 2010, and the other two were published previously. The pieces, which are unique by their morphological characteristics, were included by the authors among the Middle and Late Bronze Age artifacts, and they were linked to the Komariv and Noua culture. In terms of functionality, these can be considered scepters, even if we don’t have the possibility to refer to similar findings. Also, taking into consideration the special circumstances in which they were found, we can assume that there are votive deposits in or near aquatic environment, respectively Suceava river.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. Location of the findings. Fig. 2. Mihoveni. Stone scepter. Fig. 3. Stone scepters: 1 - Suceava; 2 - Şcheia (1 - after Boroffka, Sava 1998; 2 - after Ignat 1981).
Vasile Diaconu
Arheologia fără graniţe. Interviu cu cercetătorul Tiberiu Bader (Hochdorf)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIV [XXIX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică, Chişinău, 2020
Vasile Diaconu
Social symbols in the Bronze Age. Antler and bone scepters
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Vasile Diaconu
Bogdan Petru Niculică, Epoca bronzului în Podișul Sucevei, Suceava: Editura Karl A. Romstorfer, 2015, 622 p. ISBN 978-606-8698-06-9
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Vasile Diaconu
In memoriam Gheorghe Dumitroaia (23.04.1949-6.04.2016)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
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.