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. VIII [XXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Эфталиты. Иконографические материалы
Статья посвящена иконографическим материалам, которые могут иметь отношение к эфталитам, жившим на территории Центральной Азии и соседних стран в IV-VI веках нашей эры. В V-VI веках эфталитам удалось создать великую империю. Следует отметить, что материалы эти очень скудны, и даже датировка часто приблизительна и неточна. Тем не менее, автор попытался интерпретировать имеющиеся данные из различных источников, относящихся к эфталитам, несмотря на то, что некоторые крупные вопросы попрежнему открыты для обсуждения и, вероятно, в ближайшее время останутся таковыми. Список иллюстраций:
Рис. 1. Эфталиты и их соседи в середине VI века н.э. (по Miller 1959). Рис. 2. Печати: 1 - печать Хингилы. Оттиск; 2 - печать и оттиск мужского бюста и бактрийской надписи; 3 - печать и оттиск мужского бюста и бактрийской надписи; 4 - печать и оттиск женского бюста и богомольца; 5 - печать и оттиск мужского бюста и бактрийской надписи; 6 - печать и оттиск мужского бюста и бактрийской надписи (адаптировано из Ставиский 1961; Lerner 1999; Callieri 2002). Рис. 3. Балалык-тепе. Настенная роспись (адаптировано из Брыкина 1999). Рис. 4. Самарканд (Афрасиаб). 1-4 - Настенные росписи (адаптировано из Брыкина 1999). Рис. 5. 1 - Карта древних границ Чанъана с нанесением найденных согдийских могил; 2 - план могилы Ши Джуна (по Junkai 2005). Рис. 6. Могила Ши Джуна. Изображение эфталитского правителя (?) на северной внешней стороне саркофага (по Grenet, Riboud 2003). Рис. 7. Чилекская чаша. Детали. Узбекистан (адаптировано из Cultural 1985). Рис. 8. Чаша из Свата (Британский музей). Детали (адаптировано из Göbl 1967). Рис. 9. Терракоты: 1, 8 - Дальверзин-тепе; 2, 5-7 - Будрач; 3 - Долина Сурхандарьи; 4 - Гиссарская долина (по Il'yasov 2001).
Aydogdy Kurbanov
The hephthalite numismatics
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], 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.