Saturday 30 March 2019

The Baghdad Battery, Parthian Battery


Baghdad Battery and cut-away. Courtesy of MOCAOS



The Baghdad Battery or Parthian Battery is a set of three artifacts which were found together: a ceramic pot, a tube of copper, and a rod of iron. It was discovered in modern Khujut Rabu, Iraq, close to the metropolis of Ctesiphon, the capital of the Parthian (150 BC – 223 AD) and Sasanian (224–650 AD) empires, and it is considered to date from either of these periods. 



Baghdad Battery and cut-away. Courtesy of MOCAOS



Its origin and purpose remain unclear, and further evidence is needed to explain its purpose. It was hypothesized by some researchers that the object functioned as a galvanic cell, possibly used for electroplating, or some kind of electrotherapy, but there is no electrogilded object known from this period. An alternative explanation is that it functioned as a storage vessel for sacred scrolls. 



Baghdad Battery and cut-away. Courtesy of MOCAOS


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