The Baghdad Battery is a grave find discovered near Baghdad in 1938 and dated to the Parthian period. It consists of an unglazed ceramic vessel approximately 14 cm in height and 8 cm in diameter. A copper cylinder with a soldered bottom was placed into the vessel’s opening, and an iron rod was suspended inside the cylinder. The copper and iron pieces were secured with a pitch-like sealant. In some examples, papyrus remains were found inside the copper cylinder, while in others only the copper cylinder or only the iron rod was present. The arrangement appears to have been designed in such a way as to allow different metals to come into contact within a liquid.

Debates on Function

Various interpretations have been proposed regarding the purpose of the Baghdad Battery. Wilhelm König’s initial suggestion in 1938 was that these devices were used as simple electric cells. Building on this view, some researchers have argued that the vessels were designed for electroplating.

Kanani’s experiments demonstrated that such devices could produce a voltage of about 0.5 volts and, when using a gold cyanide solution, were capable of creating a thin plating. By contrast, researchers such as Oddy and Peck have noted that plating in the ancient world was carried out using foil, leaf, or mercury amalgam techniques, and that the Baghdad Battery provides no evidence for electroplating.

An alternative interpretation is that the devices served a medical purpose. Paul T. Keyser recalled that in ancient sources, electric fish were used as analgesics for the treatment of headaches and gout, and he suggested that the Baghdad Battery may have been developed to produce a similar electrical effect. This interpretation is seen as consistent with the device’s low voltage output.

Another view is that the devices held ritual or symbolic significance. Kurzmann and Peck argued that, due to the magical associations of copper and iron, these objects may have functioned as protective or symbolic items in a funerary context. The discovery of papyrus remains inside some vessels suggests that they might have been used to contain written messages or amulets.

Overall, since the available archaeological and chemical evidence does not confirm a definitive function, it remains uncertain whether the Baghdad Battery was used for electro-technical, medical, or ritual purposes.

Current Status

The objects are held in the collection of the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. However, due to political and security conditions, researchers are not permitted direct access to them. As a result, the Baghdad Battery continues to be regarded in archaeology and the history of science as a controversial and inconclusive find.