History of Vehicle Electrification 11 Figure 2 Parthian (Bhagdad) battery. rewrote the history of the battery. What he discovered during the dig was what looked like a simple clay jar, but inside that clay jar there was a copper cylinder containing an iron rod. The inside of the clay jar showed signs of corrosion that would have been consistent with the jar being used to hold an acidic liquid such as vinegar or wine. This discovery initially proved something of a mystery, but some research and experimentation led to the discovery that this configuration will create a battery capable of generating about 1–2 V of electricity.
This discovery has become known as the Baghdad, or the Parthian, battery ( Figure 2 ), based on the era it was believed to have been developed in over 2000 years ago. And while the exact purpose of the battery will very likely forever remain a mystery, it is recognized that Egyp- tians were known to electroplate fine jewelry around the time this battery would have been in use (Buchmann, 2011) and the battery could have been used for that purpose. After the Parthian battery was forgotten in the sands of history, there was a very long stretch where little progress was made on battery development. It was until the mid-1700s when two