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#Exhibit of the Month

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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.

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Publications Journal „Tyragetia"   vol. VII [XXII], nr. 1


The hoard of the late Bronze Age from the village of Antonești (the Cantemir District, Republic of Moldova
ISSN 1857-0240
E-ISSN 2537-6330

The hoard of the late Bronze Age from the village of Antonești (the Cantemir District, Republic of Moldova

Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică

In the summer of 2011 S.P. Bakhov, a resident of the Antonești village (Cantemir District), proposed to the specialists of the archaeological sector of the National Museum of Archaeology and History of Moldova several objects of bronze for the acquisition by the museum. According to information provided by S.P. Bakhov, the objects were found on the edge of a ravine situated near the village cemetery. By the discoverer, the objects emerged as a result of collapse of the soil. When checking the place of discovery, experts observed traces of the gradual collapses of the ravine banks. The hoard consists of 36 bronze objects: tools (2 whole and 11 fragmentary), arms (2 whole and 5 fragmentary) and ornaments (10 whole and 6 fragmentary).

By its composition the hoard found at the village of Antonești in Cantemir District corresponds to other findings of bronze objects in the Carpathian-Dniester space dated between Br.D - early Ha A1. Sickles of Heleșteni type, calotiform plaques, shapes of daggers' handles and needles attribute the Antonești hoard to the Noua culture.

The hoard represents a complex material collected during a long period of time, accumulated during BrD and buried, possibly, in the early Ha A1. The importance of the Antonești hoard's composite spectrum is in the presence of unique items that have no analogues for the moment.

List of illustrations:

Fig. 1. Antonești hoard. Geographical location.

Fig. 2. Antonești hoard. Place of discovery.

Fig. 3. Antonești hoard: 1-36 - bronze.

Fig. 4. Antonești hoard. Tools: 1-13 - bronze.

Fig. 5. Antonești hoard. Arms: 1-7 - bronze.

Fig. 6. Antonești hoard. Ornaments: 1-16 - bronze.

Mariana Sîrbu, Veaceslav Bicbaev
A pit of the Late Bronze Age discovered near the lake of Valea Morilor in Chișinău
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. X [XXV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Mariana Sîrbu
A hoard of bronze objects found near the village of Marinici (Nisporeni District, Republic of Moldova)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XVIII [XXXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Mariana Sîrbu
Pottery of the Noua- Sabatinovka-Coslogeni cultural complex. The typology
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XVII [XXXII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Mariana Sîrbu
Bronze objects found in the settlements of Noua-Sabatinovka type in the Prut-Dniester area
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Mariana Sîrbu
Material culture of the Noua-Sabatinovka type settlements investigated on the territory of the Republic of Moldova (Catalog)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIX [XXXIV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică, Chişinău, 2025



 

 

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#Exhibit of the Month

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...

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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.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

 



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.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC

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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.
©2006-2026 National Museum of History of Moldova
Visit museum 31 August 1989 St., 121 A, MD 2012, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
Phones:
Secretariat: +373 (22) 24-43-25
Department of Public Relations and Museum Education: +373 (22) 24-04-26
Fax: +373 (22) 24-43-69
E-mail: office@nationalmuseum.md
Technical Support: info@nationalmuseum.md
Web site administration and maintenance: Andrei EMILCIUC