A 2,000-YEAR-OLD ELECTRIIC BATTERY.
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A dozen electric batteries are preserved in the Baghdad Museum, the oldest of which dates back to 250 BC. Yes, you read that right, this electric battery is more than 2,000 years old. The first specimen of this battery was discovered in 1936 near Baghdad, and it was given the name "Parthian Battery."
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How does it work? This battery consisted of a ceramic jar containing a metal seal that wrapped around an iron cylinder, which in turn had an asphalt cap. If filled with acidic liquid it would potentially produce energy similarly to the carbon-zinc battery system. The battery is thought to provide the power of about 2.0 volts.
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There is no document that tells us who built it, what it was for, and on what theoretical principles it was built. But the evidence indicates that the builders of the 'Bagdad Battery' predated modern man by 1,700 years in the use of electricity.
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The 'Bagdad Battery' is a unique object in history. Nothing like it existed before, and nothing like it existed for the next 1,700 years. That is why many people think that that battery did not belong to the Bagdad of 250 B.C., but was an object found by the Arabs, and then reused by them. It is a fact that in 250 B.C., in the entire planet Earth, there was no knowledge of electricity.
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To what ancient civilization did the original design of the 'Bagdad Battery' belong? If this civilization that existed thousands of years ago knew about electricity and its use, even in a simple way, what other knowledge did it possess? We have a clue. The material and shape used in the 'granite core' of the Great Pyramid of Giza, suggest that internal structure was created to generate a slight electrostatic charge, due to the 'piezoelectric' phenomenon of the quartz contained in the granite. Were the 'real' builders of that pyramid the same creators of the 'Bagdad Battery'?