The previously documented relics retrieved
from the ruins of a Parthian city located in a suburb of the modern city of
Baghdad include an ancient battery dated to 250-224 BC [1]. This discovery was
described in a book published by Pureinsight.org, Unravelling the Mask of Prehistoric
Civilisation - The Unknown Ages. But the city holds surprises greater than this
– a more striking finding was reported recently.
At the same place where the ancient battery was found, a polished optical
lens was unearthed. It is about the width of two fingers in diameter and it
is highly transparent. Tests identify it as a polished lens. Due to the passage
of time, parts associated with this lens were lost. Only the lens itself,
slightly cracked, remains. This earliest lens known to date is now in the
British Museum. [2]
In textbooks, we are told that the earliest optical lens polishing techniques
appeared in 16th century Europe. However, this polished lens is an ancient
relic 2200 years old.
The ancient people of Baghdad who made this lens had knowledge of glass shaping
and polishing like that of today’s artists and scientists. They were able
to melt glass materials, obtain desired shapes after processing, and polish
the finished products to a high level of transparency. If they did not know
how to burnish and polish glass, how could they have made such a lens? The
writer Erich Von Daniken said, “I believe there was an unknown highly civilised
society here in ancient times.”
1. William R. Corliss, Ancient Man: A Handbook of Puzzling Artifacts, Sourcebook
Project Pub, September 1977.
2. Erich Von Daniken, Chariots of the Gods, Berkley Pub Group, August 1987.
