Was there a biblical battery?
A two thousand year old innocuous looking pot tucked away in a museum may be the great, great grandfather of the Energizer bunny. This five inch tall clay pot , which holds a copper encased iron bar and topped with an asphalt stopper, is conjectured to be the world’s first battery, made around 200 B.C. Initially found in Khujut Rabu in modern day Iraq, the Bagdad Battery at first puzzled archeologists. In 1940 Wilhelm König, the German Director of the National Museum of Iraq, suggested that when filled with an electrolyte solution, like wine, vinegar or lemon juice, the pot would act as a battery. Since then, replicas of the Battery have been created capable of producing anywhere between .8 and 2 volts of electricity. That might not be much by modern standards, but it’s an impressive amount of energy considering the first modern battery was made in the 1800’s.

While scientists have proved the Baghdad Battery capable of producing electricity, the actual use of the battery remains in question. Archeologists have suggested the battery may have been used for medicinal purposes, perhaps as a substitute for the electric properties of some fish the Greeks utilized for pain reducing effects or perhaps as an aid to acupuncture developed by the Chinese. Some have suggested the battery was used in a religious context, inspiring people to the will of the Gods by electrifying Idols which created an otherworldly sensation when touched. However, the most popular idea is that the small charge from the battery enabled the user to electroplate silver objects in gold.

What was the real use of this ingenious artifact?

That is one of many questions The Seekers are committed to exploring.

Resources
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2804257.stm
http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/bbattery.htm