Tech & Auto
The Baghdad Battery: One Of Tech's Weirdest Mysteries
By ELI SHAYOTOVICH
In 1936, four 5-inch-tall ceramic jars were found about 20 miles southeast of modern-day Baghdad, and these mysterious artifacts became known as the Baghdad batteries.
The “batteries” featured three cylinders made of rolled copper sheets with a copper end soldered to the bottom with lead, with one featuring an iron rod that may have been a plug.
Dr. Wilhelm König, a German archaeologist, is credited with discovering the batteries. However, this claim is still debated since he didn’t explain how he found them.
Since the artifacts had galvanic cells with two different metals with different electro potentials, König firmly believed these jars were batteries.
While König dated the grave to 248 B.C. – A.D. 226, others using new scientific methods and carbon dating technology placed it in the Sasanian Iranian empire from A.D. 224 – 650.
Experiments have shown that when the jar is filled with a weak acid, the “battery” makes about 1 volt of electricity, though one replica made in 1948 created almost 2 volts.
While they’re called batteries, their electrolyte solution would need to be refilled constantly for the device to work correctly, and even then, it only produces a low amperage.
It would take dozens linked together to power anything significant, requiring wires and wiring technology. There’s no evidence that either existed during the period.
A simpler explanation backed by archaeological records from other sites is that these jars were likely used to hold documents for the person once they made it to the afterlife.
Unfortunately, scientists will never be able to discover their true purpose as the jars were looted and destroyed in 2003 during the invasion of Iraq.