#Exhibit of the Month

One of the great technical achievements that revolutionized the idea of time and space, opening a new era in the history of communication, is telegraphy. It is based on the transmission of electrical signals through a cable over long distances, allowing people to communicate instantly. The telegraph spread very quickly and a network of wires stretched around the world.

In 1837, the American painter and physicist Samuel Morse invented the first electromagnetic device for telegraphy, patented in 1840. To send messages by wire, Morse developed in 1838 a simple code of dots and dashes, which represented the letters of the alphabet, known as "Morse code ".

Both Morse code and the telegraph machine were improved over time, with the telegraph becoming the most widespread system of communication and information transmission for more than a century, until the advent of the Internet. The telegraph system consisted of a series of stations repeaters along the transmission line route. Each station had an operator who received and transmitted messages by telegraph. The Morse machine transmitted about 25 words per minute, which were recorded in code on a paper tape. The operator in charge of transmitting the message would decode it and write it on paper using a special typewriter.

In Bessarabia, the telegraph entered in 1860: on April 8, the Bender telegraph station began its activity, and on April 24, the one in Chisinau, following the construction of the first Odesa-Chisinau-Leova telegraph line. Currently, telegraph services have been discontinued. The only ones who still use coded communication are radio amateurs.

The Morse telegraph machine shown comes from the Osinoostrovsky electrotechnical plant, Soviet Union, and dates back to 1934. The exhibit was restored by Mihail Culașco.

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Events Archive

National Session of Reports - Archaeological research in the Republic of Moldova, Campaign 2022

May 16, 2023

On May 16, 2023, within the National Museum of History of Moldova, the National Session of Reports - Archaeological Research in the Republic of Moldova, Campaign 2022, was held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the National Archaeological Commission.

This scientific meeting was organized in partnership by the National Archaeological Agency and the National History Museum of Moldova, on the occasion of the European Night of Museums and the International Day of Museums, which were celebrated this year on May 13 and 18, respectively.

A total of 21 scientific communications were presented at the event. Among them, the preventive and rescue archaeological research coordinated by the National Archaeological Agency stood out. For example, the results of research on the route of the Vulcanesti-Chisinau power line were presented, including the linear fortifications Valurile lui Traian, 4 mounds (located in Congaz, Novosilovca and Burlăceni) and the stratified settlement from Hansca-Livadă. Also, important results of investigations from the Cucuteni-Tripolie culture settlement from Nișcani and from the city of the Golden Horde (14th century) from Costești-Gârlea (Ialoveni district) were presented. We also mention the preventive and systematic investigations in the city of Chisinau, coordinated by dr.hab. Sergiu Musteață, who had particularly important results. The communication about the rescue research from the multi-layered site at Lipoveni was also presented, presented by Dr. Sergiu Matveev and Dr. Vlad Vornic, who brought to light interesting discoveries from the Iron Age, especially those from the I-II AD.

In terms of systematic research, the discoveries from the Saharna and Orheiul Vechi microzones, from the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages, coordinated by Dr. Aurel Zanoci and Dr. Octavian Munteanu, were highlighted. A special interest was aroused by the communication presented by Dr. Ghenadie Sîrbu, who addressed the non-invasive interdisciplinary research carried out in the Trinca-La šanțuri Eneolithic site, by a joint Moldavian-German team. Also, unique results of research from the Stolniceni microzone (Edineț district), carried out as part of a Moldovan-German project, by Marian Vasilache, were presented.

At the end of the session, the participants emphasized the importance of developing non-invasive archaeological investigations, using modern technologies and interdisciplinary methods, which must be expanded in the next period.