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.
Serghei Agulnicov, Eugen Mistreanu, Sergiu Popovici
Tumuli (kurgans) from Brînzenii Noi and Rogojeni (Rescue Archaeological Research 2013)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VIII [XXIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
This article puts in the scientifi c use results of rescue research of the mound (tumulus) no.1 from the village of Brânzenii Noi (Telenești District) and the mound (tumulus) no.1 from the village of Rogojeni (Şoldănești District). The vast majority of burials in the mounds studied belong to the Yamna culture, Early Bronze Age. One burial from the mound 1 in Brînzenii Noi refers to antiquities of the Noua culture, Late Bronze Age. In conclusion, the authors consider the issues of coexistence of the Late Yamna culture tribes with the bearers of the Catacomb culture in such a peculiar ecological niche as the fl oodplain of the Middle Răut.
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1. Geographical location of the researched tumuli (kurgans): 1 - Brânzenii Noi village, Telenești District; 2 - Rogojeni village, Șoldănești District. Fig. 2. The terrain map with the location of the tumuli (kurgans) and necropolises studied in the lower riches of the Middle Răut: I - the kurgan from Orhei; II - tumular necropolis from Braviceni; III - tumular necropolis from Ciocîlteni; IV - burial mounds from Codrul Nou. Fig. 3. Brânzenii Noi. Tumulus (kurgan) no. 1. Plan and sections. Fig. 4. Brânzenii Noi. Tumulus (kurgan) no. 1. Tomb no. 1, stone fi lling. Fig. 5. Brânzenii Noi. Tumulus (kurgan) no. 1: 1 - tomb no. 1; 2 - tomb no. 3; 3 - temple ring from the tomb no. 2; 4 - vessel from the tomb no. 1; 5 - tomb no. 2. Fig. 6. Brânzenii Noi. Tumulus (kurgan) no. 1. Tomb no. 4. Fig. 7. Rogojeni. Tumulus (kurgan) no. 1. Plan and sections. Fig. 8. Rogojeni. Tumulus (kurgan) no. 1: 1 - tomb no. 1; 2 - vessel from the tomb no. 1; 3 - tomb no. 2; 4 - vessel from the tomb no. 2. Fig. 9. Rogojeni. Tumulus (kurgan) no. 1: 1 - anthropomorphic stele; 2, 3 - fl int fl ake. Fig. 10. Brânzenii Noi. Tumulus (kurgan) no. 1: 1 - vessel from tomb no. 1; 2 - vessel from tomb no. 1 (photo in situ). Rogojeni. Tumulus (kurgan) no. 1: 3 - vessel from tomb no. 1; 4 - vessel from tomb no. 1 (photo in situ); 5 - vessel from tomb no. 2, 6 - vessel from tomb no. 1 (photo in situ).
Eugen Mistreanu
Settlements of Gumelniţa culture in the Prut-Dniester area (catalog)
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIII [XXVIII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Eugen Mistreanu
Batch of ceramic fragments from the Gumelniţa culture settlement at Colibaş, Cahul District
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XIX [XXXIV], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică, Chişinău, 2025
Eugen Mistreanu
Pottery of the Gumelniţa culture, discovered in the village of Ciobalaccia, Cantemir District
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XV [XXX], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică, Chişinău, 2021
Sergiu Popovici
Aurel Vîlcu, Theodor Isvoranu, Eugen Nicolae, Les Monnaies d'or de l'Institut d'Arheologie de Bucarest, Moneta, Wetteren 2006, 253 p., abrevieri, indice de catalog, 32 planșe, 884 fi g., 1 hartă, ISBN 90-77297-29-4
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. I [XVI], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
Eugen Mistreanu
New data on Gumelnița communities in the Yalpug River microzone
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. XVII [XXXII], 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.