The crown vessel from Poduri

Narration text

This unusual vessel, whose rim rises into large, hollow projections, is called a crown vessel. Archaeologists gave it that name because its silhouette recalls a crown. It comes from Poduri–Dealul Ghindaru in Bacău County, the only tell-type site in the entire Cucuteni–Trypillia area.

A tell is a mound formed as settlements were built one on top of another, generation after generation, on the same spot. Excavations there lasted almost three decades, led by the archaeologists Dan Monah and Gheorghe Dumitroaia. The vessel belongs to the Precucuteni phase, the direct ancestors of the Cucuteni people.

Notice that the maker was not aiming only at usefulness: the perforated projections do nothing to help store food, but they turn the pot into a striking object. Crown vessels, along with binocular vessels, round-dance vessels and pedestal vessels with columns, are forms found only in the Cucuteni world. What exactly was it for?

Archaeologists still debate it. Most likely it was used in ceremonies.