#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.

Virtual Tour

Events Archive

Scientific Conference "Communication, mobility and trade during the Pre-Roman Iron and Early Roman Age in Central and Eastern Europe"

April 19-21, 2023

The Marie Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin organized, in collaboration with the National Museum of History of Moldova and the Free University of Berlin, an important scientific conference on the theme "Communication, mobility and trade during the Pre-Roman Iron and Early Roman Age in Central and Eastern Europe". The event took place between April 19-21, 2023 and benefited from the financial support of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation.

The conference was attended by renowned researchers from Denmark, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania, as well as young researchers working in this area of science. The Republic of Moldova was represented by four specialists in the field: Ph.D., assoc. prof. Aurel Zanoci (MSU/NMHM), Ph.D., assoc. prof. Octavian Munteanu (ICSPU), Ph.D., assoc. prof. Mihail Băț (MSU) and PhD Vasile Iarmulschi (NMHM/FU Berlin).

The theme of the circulation of individuals and ideas in the last centuries of the pre-Christian era and the first centuries of the Christian era was approached from various perspectives and generated exchanges of ideas and the creation of new scientific networks. This event opened up new opportunities for researchers in Europe and brought together scientists from different countries to discuss the challenges and opportunities in this field.

The conference was a success and demonstrated that collaboration between specialists from different countries can lead to important results in the research of ancient history and culture.