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OUT-OF-PLACE ARTIFACTDeclassified 1938// artifacts
The Baghdad Battery
Parthian-era clay jars containing copper cylinders and iron rods — possibly the world's first galvanic cells, predating Volta by 1,800 years.
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Overview
The 'Baghdad Battery' is a set of three artifacts found together near Khujut Rabu in 1936: a 13-cm ceramic pot, a copper tube, and an iron rod. German archaeologist Wilhelm König, then director of the National Museum of Iraq, hypothesized in 1938 that they could function as a galvanic cell, possibly used for electroplating. Replicas have generated 0.8–2 volts when filled with vinegar or grape juice.
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Timeline
- c. 250 BCE – 224 CEEstimated Parthian-era manufacture.
- 1936Artifact discovered at Khujut Rabu, Iraq.
- 1938Wilhelm König publishes the battery hypothesis.
- 1940GE engineer Willard Gray builds working replica.
- 2003Artifacts looted/lost during the invasion of Iraq; whereabouts unknown.
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Evidence on Record
- 01Replica experiments by Willard Gray (GE, 1940) and Arne Eggebrecht (1978)
- 02Original König paper: '9 Jahre Irak' (1938)
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Theories & Disputes
THEORY A
Galvanic cell for electroplating gold onto silver (König).
THEORY B
Storage vessel for sacred scrolls (mainstream archaeology, post-2000).
THEORY C
Medical pain device using mild electric current (Paul Keyser, 1993).
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