During the excavation of a tomb in Rome, a 1,500-year-old lamp was discovered that has never gone out. What is the mystery behind it?
The Mysterious Energy Source
In 1845, archaeologists uncovered the sarcophagus of a young woman near Rome. When they opened the sarcophagus, her entire body was found perfectly preserved, showing no signs of decay, as if she were merely sleeping. To their astonishment, the archaeologists also found an ancient lamp still glowing brightly inside the tomb.
How could this ancient lamp have illuminated for 1,500 years without extinguishing? Where did the light source for these ancient lamps come from? Clearly, this lamp is not an oil lamp. Some have speculated that this everlasting lamp is an ancient electric light. However, electricity is a product of modern civilization, and ancient people could not have created electrical devices.
During the excavation of a tomb in Rome, a 1,500-year-old lamp was discovered that has never gone out.
Did you know that inside the ancient Egyptian pyramids, which date back 4,600 years, there are beautifully sculpted murals? Since the tombs and corridors are very dark, these exquisite artworks must have been carved and painted under bright light.
After analyzing the dust accumulated in the pyramids over 4,600 years with the most advanced equipment, scientists found no black smoke or oily residue in the dust, nor any evidence of torches or oil lamps being used. It is clear that the ancient Egyptian artisans did not use torches or oil lamps for illumination while carving, writing, or painting in the pyramids.
The appearance of the ancient electric jar.
In the summer of 1936, while a group of railway workers was paving the road in the village of Rabua, on the outskirts of Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, they accidentally uncovered an ancient tomb made of enormous stone slabs. Inside the tomb was a sarcophagus. Iraqi archaeologists arrived to excavate and discovered a large quantity of valuable gold, silver, and burial items from ancient Persia, dating from 248 to 226 BC.
German archaeologist Wali Haram, who was once in charge of the Iraq Museum, stated that while cleaning the unearthed cultural artifacts, he discovered a 15 cm tall white clay jar filled with asphalt. After extensive research, Wali believed that the jar was a type of ancient chemical battery. By pouring a little acid or alkaline water into the jar, it could generate electricity.
Was Wali’s deduction correct? German scholar Manlyn Ajbalich decided to create a battery as Wali described to verify this. He crafted copper tubes and ceramic jars according to the specifications of the unearthed objects and assembled them into ancient batteries. Afterward, he poured fresh grape juice into the battery jar, and the voltmeter immediately indicated a voltage of half a volt.
After numerous experiments, it was finally confirmed that this ancient ceramic jar, dating back over 2,000 years, could generate electricity. This ancient generator was used for illumination or electroplating gold.
