#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

International Collaboration

The working visit of scientific researcher Eugeniu Mistreanu in Kobuleti, Republic of Georgia

18-25 September 2023

The EU4Culture project

Between 18.09.2023 - 25.09.2023, our colleague Eugeniu Mistreanu, scientific researcher in the Archeology sector of the National Museum of History of Moldova, undertook a working visit to Kobuleti, Republic of Georgia. The move was financially supported by a short-term mobility grant from the European EU4Culture program.

During the visit, being hosted by Mr. Rezo Takidze, the director of the Kobuleti Museum, the directors established some themes for future collaborations, both in the field of museography and in the scientific field.

The internship resulted in several work and research visits to the Kobuleti Museum, Batumi Archaeological Museum, Ispani I and Ispani II National Reserve, Kintrishi National Park, where I visited the Tskhemvani Stone Bridge built in the c. XII BC and the Khino monastery, where clay vessels for storing wine - kvevri - are preserved in situ. The purpose of these visits is the exchange of experience in the field of cultural management, with a predilection for museum management, the establishment of partnership relations with the museum in Kobuleti and the drawing up of cooperation directions in the future.

Another important activity was related to familiarization with the impressive archaeological collections from the Eneolithic to the Middle Ages, presented by Mr. Takidze. In this context, a field visit was also carried out, to the famous Pichvnari archaeological site - ancient necropolis, c. VI-III BC, of large size and the nearby settlement.

The discussions focused on the possibility of signing a memorandum of cooperation that will allow us to collaborate in order to organize exhibitions, joint conferences, but also exchanges of experiences for museographers and researchers from both museums. We also agreed on a joint research project focused on Eneolithic material culture and an exhibition in Chisinau and Kobuleti, where we will present the history, culture and potential of our countries.

The interaction with the Georgian cultural heritage, with the museological environment of Adjara allowed the establishment of new contacts with colleagues from these museum and research centers, which will certainly contribute to future collaborations both in the field of museology and archaeological research.

The mobility was funded by the European Union in the framework of the EU4Culture project implemented by the Goethe-Institut, Czech Centers, Danish Cultural Institute and Institut Français de Géorgie.