Rupestral reliefs are the oldest samples of monumental sculpture, existing on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. Such reliefs were discovered in the neighborhood of the cells located in the basins of rivers Dniester and Raut. It is hardly possible to identify their exact dating, however stylistic peculiarities of certain images, such as reliefs found not far from the villages of Socol and Busa, attest a considerable age. The renowned heraldic reliefs, representing the images of two stylized lions, flanked at the entrance to the Assumption of the Virgin Church in Causeni, are dating back to the end of the Middle Ages (XVIIIth century). Even older are heraldic reliefs with the image of coat of arms of Medieval Moldova (XVth century), located in White Fortress (today, this territory belongs to Ukraine), Suceava (Romania) and other political and administrative centers of feudal Moldova.
The art of sculptural relief is, perhaps, the most widespread type of monumental art, existing today on the territory of the Republic of Moldova. All of the existing relief types may be attested here - starting with alto-relievos, such as the ones dedicated to Hristo Botev (sculptor - V. Kuznetov), Ion Creanga (sculptor - V. Kuznetov) and Gheorghe Asachi (sculptors Vlasova and I. Beldii) and ending with the flattened or executed in "en creux" technique reliefs, frequently utilized in the framework of various memorial plaques.
