First battery

In 1936 German archaeologist Wilhelm Konig found two clay jars in a tomb at Khujut Rabu near modern-day Bahdad, Iraq. Dating to around 200 BC, they were made during the Parthian dynasty (250 BC–AD 224), which gives the articles their name – the Parthian batteries. The jars are 140 mm (5.5 in) high and 76 mm (3 in) at their widest diameter. The top opening was sealed with an asphalt plug that held a copper tube in place. In the centre of this tube, a thin iron rod was inserted and hung in the centre of the tube without touching it. By filling the jar with acidic liquids such as vinegar or fruit juice, a small voltage of 1.5–2 Volts was produced; all approximately 2,000 years before Luigi Galvani and Alessandro Volta experimented with the first modern batteries. Current theories suggest that the small voltage was used to produce electricity for electroplating gold onto silver jewellery – a process since tested by creating modern replicas of the Parthian batteries.