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New study proposes that previous recreations underestimated the device’s potential because they did not consider two elements of the design: the presence of solder and the possible role of the ceramic container as an active part of the circuit.
The case of the curious, mysterious and very controversial “Baghdad battery”, to which ZAP dedicated one a few months ago, has just become even more controversial.
This month, a new experimental study of an archaeological artifact associated with a 2,000-year-old clay jar found near Iraq’s capital suggests that the object could have produced more electricity than previously estimated.
The investigation, led by independent researcher Alexander Bazes and Sino-Platonic Papers, proposes that previous recreations underestimated the device’s potential by failing to consider two elements of the design: the presence of solder and the possible role of the ceramic container as an active part of the circuit.
According to Bazes, these factors would allow the set to function as “two batteries in one”, with an “internal” cell based on the combination of copper and iron — already frequently discussed — and a second “external” cell, described as an aqueous tin–air battery, connected in series, he explains, cited by .
In the experimental model presented, this configuration would have generated but 1.4 voltsa value that, according to the author, would be sufficient to trigger “useful and clearly visible” electrochemical reactions, such as electrodeposition (including possible applications in electroplating), controlled corrosion and electrolysis of water, producing hydrogen and oxygen.
The new observation would reinforce the hypothesis originally advanced by Wilhelm King that the artifact could have been designed as an electrochemical device.
Despite everything, there continues to be no independent evidence that proves practices such as systematic electrodeposition in the region and period associated with the find, and a lack of similar artifacts that point to a widespread technology. Skeptical investigators have repeated that successful experiments demonstrate only possibility, not historical use, and that it would be necessary to find compatible material evidence, for example, objects unambiguously treated by electrochemical processes or documentation.
Furthermore, they persist doubts about dating and even about the original purpose of the jar, with alternative hypotheses pointing to its use as a storage container, including the preservation of scrolls or texts in organic material, similar to vases found in other sites in the region.
The loss of the original artefact, looted during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, limits direct reassessment.
