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Baghdad Battery: Ancient Artifact or Ritual Device?

1/27/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Alexander Bazes, an independent researcher, argues the Baghdad battery could function as a primitive battery, potentially producing about 1.4 volts.
Bazes suggests the device was designed for energy storage and may have been used to ritually corrode prayers.
University of Pennsylvania archaeologist William Hafford contends the object was a sacred jar for storing prayers, with the iron rod part of a ritual rather than an electrode.

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Story summary

Alexander Bazes, an independent researcher, argues the Baghdad battery could function as a primitive battery, potentially producing about 1.4 volts.
Bazes suggests the device was designed for energy storage and may have been used to ritually corrode prayers.
University of Pennsylvania archaeologist William Hafford contends the object was a sacred jar for storing prayers, with the iron rod part of a ritual rather than an electrode.