In June 1936, Iraqi railway-construction workers involved in earth-moving operations discovered an ancient grave under a stone slab. Over the next two months, the Iraq Antiquities Department removed approximately 613 beads, engraved bricks, clay figurines, and an ancient electric battery dating from between 248 BC and AD 226. Comprised of a copper cylinder and an iron rod, the battery was probably used by Baghdad silversmiths-fifteen centuries before Luigi Galvani's famous experiment in which he produced enough electric current to cause a frog's legs to twitch.
Archaeologist Wilhelm Konig wrote: "Something rather peculiar was found... A vase-like vessel of light yellow clay ... contained a copper cylinder which was held firmly by asphalt... [and] a completely oxidized iron rod.. After all the parts had been brought together and then examined in their separate parts, it became evident that it could only have been an electrical element. It was only necessary to add an acid or an alkaline liquid..."
At the Berlin Museum in Germany, Konig noticed similar cylinders from Iraq; all had iron and bronze rods and asphalt stoppers, which were corroded as if by acid. He surmised that at least ten batteries had been run together to reach a voltage output that was capable of electroplating gold and silver jewelry. In Mesopotamia gold and silver plating goes back 2,000 years, and in Bulgaria, 4,000 years. Museums around the world contain objects in which layers of gold are too thin and smooth to have been applied by beating or gluing. Could they have been electroplated?
Replicas of the batteries were made in two separate experiments conducted in the United States. A current of half a volt was achieved and lasted eighteen days. A 5 percent electrolyte solution, using vinegar, wine, or copper sulphate, was employed.
Text from: Almanac of the Infamous, the Incredible, and the Ignored by Juanita Rose Violins, published by Weiser Books, 2009
The Swash Channel leads to the main entrance of Poole Harbour in Dorset, and this is where the Swash Channel Wreck lies.
It was found in the 1990s but then forgotten and rediscovered in 2004. Excavations took place between 2005 and 2013, during which several ship parts and a rudder were recovered.
A photomosaic of the Fame wrecksite. By the Bournemouth University
The wreck lies at a depth of 7-9 metres on the edge of the Hook Sands. It covers an area that was larger than thought, spanning 50 m by 40 m with structural remains over 40 m by 20 m. It includes parts of the ship's forecastle, complete with galley and gunports, with the 40-metre port side of the hull surviving in carvel construction. Over 1,000 artefacts have been recovered as of 2010, including various rigging blocks, barrels, pottery and personal items such as shoes, wooden bowls and tankards. The ship has also yielded 5 carvings of baroque style including two mermen, cherubim, and a classical style head carved on top of the 8.4 m long rudder.
The rudder is 8.4m long. The upper section is decorated with the superbly carved head of a man. Such carvings were a long standing tradition on Dutch ships. It is thought to be a Roman soldier or even a Dutch soldier of the time.
Dendrochronology suggests that the hull contains some wood felled between 1619 and 1639 in the Netherlands or Germany, with at least one timber from a tree cut down in the year 1628. The hull had an outer plank sheathing, designed to help protect the main planking from marine organisms. This indicated that the vessel might have been on a voyage to or from the tropics.
Judging by the number of surviving gunports, the ship carried 26 or more carriage-mounted guns, but only 6 could be found, suggesting that others were salvaged before discovery.
The age of the ship could be narrowed down further because, although the ship was not carrying any cargo, the Dutch household ceramics were dated to 1625-1650.
This is what she might have looked like
According to historian Ian Friel, extensive research indicates that the ship was the Fame of Hoorn, "an armed merchantman owned by two men, Hercules Garretson and Cornelius Veene. The vessel's master was called John Jacobson Botemaker, and in all there were some 45 people on board".
"It is not known why the Fame stopped off Poole, but the English Channel can be an inhospitable place in winter and perhaps the crew were seeking to shelter in Studland Bay. If this was the case, it didn't work, because there was a storm, and the ship seems to have dragged its anchor (that is, the anchor would not hold). The Fame was “overset and overwhelmed”, driven onto a sandbank and “broken in pieces and torn up”. “Overset” meant that the ship was knocked on its side, or capsized. Fortunately, the master and crew all escaped alive and got to land." - Ian Friel
So much for the wreck, and as if that weren't enough, in January 2026, the storm Chandra uncovered another section of ship at Studland Bay, thought to be part of a hull, measuring approximately 6 metres long and 2 metres wide. At first glance, it appears to be part of the Fame, but this still needs to be confirmed by dendrochronological analysis.
This rudder with a moustachioed face carved into it, is part of the Swash Channel Wreck, the ship wreck was discovered outside Poole Harbour
Posts about Fame of Hoorn written by ianfrielhistorian
The Swash Channel wreck was discovered in 2004 during a geophysical survey by Wessex Archaeology in advance of dredging to deepen the approa
Archaeopress Publications
Experts believe timbers found at Studland Beach form a missing piece of the Swash Channel wreck from 1631.
Mystery Hill is an American megalithic site, often compared to British sites such as Avebury or Stonehenge, located in New Hampshire some forty miles north of Boston, Massachusetts. The site is a somewhat chaotic collection of structures: walls, cave-like enclosures, and oddly arranged stones, the largest weighing some eleven tons. Lacking the symmetry of most of the European sites, Mystery Hill does possess what are believed to be astronomically significant stone placements such that the site could have been used to measure the major solar movements (solstices and equinoxes). The most interesting structure is the so-called Sacrificial Stone. The flat stone has a channel carved around its perimeter and a possible blood drain at one corner. The opening under the stone would allow a religious functionary to operate during any religious ceremonies.
What has kept Mystery Hill from the kind of recognition given the European sites is its questionable origin. It does not have a history of existence dating to the movement of Europeans in the area (1730s) nor a Native American folklore attached to it. Modern records begin in the early nineteenth century when a man named Jonathan Pattee owned the site. Many assumed he and his family built the site, although at least one structure is known to predate Pattee. In any case, during the nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the area was compromised before any archeologist could document it. In the 1930s William B. Goodwin, the owner at the time, did much irreparable harm to the site.
Apart from Pattee, people have suggested the structure, which is about twenty-five miles from the Atlantic shore, is Viking in origin, a pre-Colombian Irish structure (a theory favored by Goodwin), or an ancient Native American site. Items found at Mystery Hill have been dated to between 1,000 and 3,000 years old, but the Native Americans of the region are not known to have worked in stone; there is no evidence of a megalithic culture in New England.
The cause of Mystery Hill as an ancient site of archeological significance is kept alive by the New England Antiquities Research Association, an amateur archeological association founded in 1964 that seeks to document New England's prehistory. Most current writing about Mystery Hill seems to favor its pre-Columbian European origin.
Text from The Encyclopedia of Religious Phenomena by J. Gordon Melton (Visible Ink Press, 2008)
The Carloway Broch
The broch was probably constructed about 200 BC. Broch-building ceased around AD 100, but they may have continued in use.  Evidence from excavations suggests Dun Carloway may have been used until about AD 1000. It’s also said to have been used as a stronghold by members of the Morrison Clan during the 1500s.
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