#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

Round table "Archaeologist Emanuil RIKMAN - 100 years since his birth"

April 13, 2023

On April 13, the National Museum of History of Moldova hosted the round table "Archaeologist Emanuil RIKMAN - 100 years since his birth", organized by the Archeology Sector of the museum in partnership with the Faculty of History and Philosophy of the State University of Moldova and National Archaeological Agency.

The event was organized within the project "Museum heritage and historical memory: research, interpretation, presentation" (number 20.80009.0807.43), financed by the State Program (2020-2023) and aimed to bring the scientific work to the fore of archaeologist Emanuil Rikman and to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth.

The event was opened by dr. hab Eugen Sava, General Director NMHM. The round table was attended by numerous specialists in the field of archeology and ancient history, as well as enthusiasts of these subjects, who followed with interest the communications presented by the special guests.

Among them were dr. hab., prof. univ. Gheorghe Postică, who spoke about the scientific legacy of the scientist Emanuil A. Rikman, dr. Sergiu Matveev, who presented the archaeological sites of Emanuil Rikman in the North of the Republic of Moldova, the excavations at Sobari, dr. Vlad Vornic, who discussed the archaeological sites of Emanuil Rikman in the central and southern areas of the Republic of Moldova, the excavations at Budești and Costești, as well as dr. assoc. prof. Ion Tentiuc, who presented the archaeological collections of Emanuil Rikman from the funds of the National Museum of History of Moldova.

The round table ended with discussions and evocations about Emanuil Rikman and with the inauguration in the upstairs hall of an exhibition dedicated to the archaeologist Emanuil Rikman, which will be open for visits from April 13 to May 24, 2023, in the upper hall of the National Museum of History of Moldova, str. 31 August 1989, 121A.

This scientific event once again demonstrated the importance of research, interpretation and presentation of cultural and historical heritage and represented an excellent opportunity to reflect on Emanuil Rikman's contribution to the development of archeology and ancient history in the Republic of Moldova.