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.
Types of decorative elements in headwear of the Scythian women
Tyragetia, serie nouă, vol. VII [XXII], nr. 1, Arheologie. Istorie Antică
The study analyzes the Scythian women's headwear based on the discoveries in Scythian barrows with female burials. By decorative elements there were identified several types of headwear. As a rule, they were worn by representatives of aristocratic layers of society and highlighted their social status. Despite the diversity of decorative elements it can be noted a common element for all the head-dresses - the representation of the fertility goddess.
List of illustrations:
Fig. 1. Golden appliqué on a cylindrical head-dress depicting a goddess wearing a crown (polos).
Fig. 2. Scene of adoration on a gold miniature from the Melitopol mound.
Fig. 3. Image of the goddess on earrings from the mound No. 10 near the village of Bol'shaya Znamenka (Zaporizhia Oblast).
Fig. 4. Pendant with the image of the goddess Hera (the village of Belozerka, Zaporizhia Oblast).
Fig. 5. Reconstruction of a head-dress based on investigation of materials from the mound No. 22 near the village of Kamenka (Mykolaiv Oblast).
Fig. 6. The layout of decorations on a head-dress (mound No. 22, near the village of Vil'na Ukraina, Kherson Oblast).
Fig. 7. Reconstruction of head-dress by decorative elements from the mound No. 22, near the village of Vil'na Ukraina (Kherson Oblast).
Fig. 8. Openwork appliqués for the decoration of a head-dress from the mound No. 22 near the village of Kamenka (Mykolaiv Oblast): a - palmette; b - images of a sphinx and a griffin in a heraldic composition.
Fig. 9. Openwork plates from the set for the decoration of a head-dress from the mound No. 22, near the village of Vil'na Ukraina (Kherson Oblast): a - plate with a representation of a sphinx and a griffin in a heraldic composition; b - openwork ribbon with the representation of a tree with birds.
Fig. 10. Reconstruction of a head-dress by the ornaments from the mound No. 22, near the village of Vil'na Ukraina (Kherson Oblast).
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.