#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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Scientific and Practical Seminar: Scientific and cultural dialogue with representatives of specialized institutions regarding the record and management of archaeological collections and the archive of archaeological research

September 29, 2023

On September 29, 2023, at the Museum of History of Moldova, the Scientific and Practical Seminar "Scientific and cultural dialogue with representatives of specialized institutions regarding the record and management of archaeological collections and the archive of archaeological research" was held. The event was organized within the project "Museum heritage and historical memory: research, interpretation, presentation" (Code: 20.80009.0807.43), in the context of the European Heritage Days.

The Seminar was attended by 38 researchers, museographers and master's students in the field, from 6 archaeological profile institutions from the Republic of Moldova (Ministry of Culture, National Archaeological Agency, State University of Moldova, Ion Creangă State Pedagogical University, National Museum of History of Moldova, Institute of Cultural Heritage) and 5 local museums.

During the Seminar, topics related to the administration of mobile archaeological heritage objects kept in the national and local museums of the Republic of Moldova were discussed. In this context, 8 communications were presented: "The legal framework of the Republic of Moldova regarding the record and administration of archaeological collections and the archaeological archive" (Gheorghe Postică); "Management of the national archaeological archive within the National Museum of History of Moldova" (Mariana Sîrbu); "Management of the archaeological collection within the National Museum of History of Moldova" (Natalia Mateevici, Ecaterina Abâzova); "Management of the collection of pottery, paleoanthropology and archaeozoology within the National History Museum of History of Moldova" (Ion Tentiuc, Eugen Mistreanu); "The problem of forming the collection and digital database of images and photo films from archaeological excavations in the Republic of Moldova" (Denis Topal); "Management of the archaeological collection within the Tudor Arnăut Museum of Archeology of the State University of Moldova" (Sergiu Matveev); "Management of the archaeological collection of the Old Orhei Cultural and Natural Reserve" (Ion Ciobanu, Vitalie Burlacu); "The problem of theft from sites and illegal commercialization of the national archaeological heritage" (Vlad Vornic).

As a result of the debate, the urgent need was recognized to restructure policies for the protection and recording of mobile archaeological heritage in national, institutional and local museums, to prioritize and intensify activities, including inventory, systematization and conservation of mobile archaeological heritage objects.