Building a "Baghdad Battery"

Step 8 Interpretation of the Artifacts

Was it a battery?
Some say the "battery" is actually nothing more than a scroll holder, others have said it is a Leyden jar.

So what might a battery have been used for during this time?

• some speculate it was used as a current source to electrify various objects, either for curiosity or "religious experience" statues controlled by a crafty priest - this does seem nifty, but it would take several batteries to generate a noticeable jolt through the unsuspecting worshiper
• others have speculated it was used for electroplating gold and that many of the artifacts collected in museums are falsely assumed to be solid gold, although I am unaware of evidence for plated artifacts to support this argument - one researcher claims to have successfully used the batteries to electroplate gold, but other investigators have disputed the veracity of Arne Eggebrecht's claims - despite this dispute (disputes and name calling being all too common in certain academic circles), there are two videos (one with Arne) indicating that electroplating is indeed possible with this battery: 1, 2. I believe that someone could use the battery (or several) to plate gold, but there should also be plated artifacts in existence to support the argument.
• others speculate that it may have been used in medicine
• I think there is a possibility that it may have been used to run a homopolar motor. Homopolar motors have a very simple design, consisting of only a current source (the battery), a strip of copper or bronze, and a magnet (e.g. lodestone) - all readily accessible objects. A Homopolar motor was actually the first electric motor built (by Faraday) - but this would imply Faraday was actually late by several hundred years. Copper and Bronze were already being manipulated into various shapes (as seen in the artifacts) and lodestones (naturally magnetized rocks) were likely common and sacred to people of this time for their use as a navigational aid. I've not been able to find any photos or drawings of the bronze and iron artifacts that resembled wires (referenced in the sources listed below), so my argument for a homopolar motor is perhaps stretching, but if the 'wires' are bent properly it may support it. One perplexing aspect of the battery argument is the uncertainty of how the copper electrode was accessed to complete a circuit. According to the sources listed below, the Sassanid style pottery that the electrodes were suspended in with the asphalt seal/stopper was porous not glazed. Part of my reasoning for how a circuit is completed with the battery, depends on a porous shell that allows the electrolyte to seep in during a charge in a pool of electrolyte, and then sweat out during discharge (perhaps, to complete a circuit with a lodestone placed on the bottom of the pot to drive a homopolar motor, as described below, or some other unknown use). If I had access to the 'wire' and other artifacts found near the batteries, or photos of the dig sites, etc. it may be easier to support my claims for a homopolar motor. Until then, I am admittedly stretching to explain how the batteries were actually used, based on the limited puzzle pieces I have available. simple homopolar motor video 1, 2