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.
The findings of belts in the complexes of XIII-XVI centuries in the Carpathian-Balkan region
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VI [XXI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
The article considers the findings of belts made in the traditions of European Gothic art in the complexes of XIII- XVI centuries in the Carpathian-Balkan region.The unique belt decorated with the image of St. George was found in the Republic of Moldova. The belts ornamented with vegetable and geometrical patterns dominate in the Romanian hoards. A few number of belts decorated with zoomorphic patterns were found in the Romanian treasures as well. The belts with images of animals (lizards, dragons, lions) were typical for the territory of Bulgaria. The examples with engraved vegetable ornament or anthropomorphic images were known also. In the Carpathian-Danube region the “Gothic belts” were the accessories of male dress mainly, in spite of Western Europe where these belts were typical both male and female.
List of illustrations: Fig. 1. Belts fragments. Old Orhei (Republic of Moldova) (after Bacumenco 2006). Fig. 2. 1-8 - Fragments of the belt set, Orbeasca (Romania) (after Dumitriu 2001); 9 - reconstruction of the belt, Kerepesi (Hungary) (after Kralovánszky 1955); 10 - buckle, Curtea de Argeș (Romania) (after Dumitriu 2001). The scales are different. Fig. 3. Details of belt set. Schinetea (Romania) (after Alaiba 2002). Fig. 4. Details of belts sets: 1, 2 - Belorechenskaya (Russia) (after Крамаровский 2001); 3-12 - Olteni (Romania) (after Dumitriu 2001). The scales are different. Fig. 5. Details of belt sets. Dolišče (Bulgaria) (after Павлова 2007). Fig. 6. Details of belt sets. 1-3 - Veliko Tarnovo (Bulgaria), 4-6 - Dolišče (Bulgaria) (after Павлова 2007). The scales are different.
Светлана Рябцева
On some ornaments and clothing accessories of the populations from the Carpathian-Danubian space in the 14th-17th centuries
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. IV [XIX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Екатерина Абызова, Светлана Рябцева
Buckles from the collection of the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 2, Istorie. Muzeologie Chișinău, 2007
Екатерина Абызова, Светлана Рябцева
Medieval belt and bag fitting finds from Echimauti site of ancient settlement
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. II [XVII], 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.