Awful Archaeology Ep. 6.5: The Baghdad Battery... Again?

Dr. Hafford correcting Milo: brings up facts, logic, original papers Milo correcting him: You didn’t laugh at my joke, Dr. Hafford. I thought it was very funny.

As a librarian: If you're struggling with primary sources now that you've left college, use your local library! We libraries spend a fair amount of money to give patrons access to many databases, websites, etc. that colleges give students access to. Although our sources are definitely lacking in comparison, if you look into what digital resources your local library offers, there's a good change you already have access to more than you think.

I love how the ultimate archaeology flex seems to be: "I found the MOST OBSCURE source in the SMALLEST library in the LEAST ACCESSIBLE location".

"-- to curse your target, engrave spells of preference on a sheet of lead, roll loosely and leave it to sink at the bottom of their personal source of water." I don't believe in curses but I got a hunch that this one used to work pretty well.

We're getting both an Avatar 2 and a Baghdad battery 2 in 1 year. Strange times, also good, but still double sequels

"This is my roommate's cat, but he will be mine." This is it. This is how you get a cat.

My favorite "it must be ritual" is when a bunch of male archeologists found sharpened obsidian stuck in the roofs (like thatch) and said it might have been to keep them closer to the sun so they get some of the sun's power. But then some women quickly realized it was to keep the kitchen knives away from the kids.

31:10 When he says he’s gonna start putting in more errors so he gets more corrections- i love that, perfect example of Murphys Law: “The best way to get the right answer on the Internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer.”

Alternative title: Two Chad Archeologists Work to Completely Demolish one of the Dumbest Conspiracy Theories. This is one of the most respectful pieces of discourse I've ever seen both on the internet and in real life.

Dr. Brad Hafford "i want you to continue doing these, and i love watching them, and i look forward to seeing the next video" Milo: aight bet, im-a dip for a year and a half, peace!

Knowing the most likely interpretation of the Baghdad Jars, it's absolutely hilarious how the "it's a battery" interpretation is really just a perfect storm of circumstances: >A jug, in which someone may have put lemon juice to drink >The owner of the jug writes a curse on a lead sheet >Stores the curse in a copper cylinder >Seals the copper cylinder inside the empty, uncleaned jug with bitumen >Nails the jug and buries it >The top of the jug is broken off so it looks like just a jar with a nail sticking out of a bitumen seal Thousands of years later Conspiracy Theorists: All the elements line up: this ancient jar is a battery! Surely used to power up a lightbulb ways away from where it was found!

Love how he's not debunking or proving you wrong, rather he's filling in gaps in your knowledge, and expanding the knowledge that you already have 👍

I am so in love with the amount of respect, maturity, and growth exhibited in this video. The professor's video has repeatedly come up in my feed and I never Wat he'd it bc I assumed what I would hear. That was my bad. I will go back and watch the professor's video. I love this mature, knowledgeable back-and-forth. I just freaking love this sh*t. Thank you so much for this knowledge 🙏 Sadhu Sadhu Sadhu 🙏

Here's something additional Dr. Hafford taught me in this video: that "ritual" can and often is much more casual than what we think about when we hear the word "ritual." Like I'm sitting here thinking ritual involves multiple priests with robes and incense and a temple full of 100 followers, then he uses "cheers" to show me that it can be so much more simple than that! And now that I have that understanding, I wonder if the Bagdad battery was to the people that used it what mouthwash with alcohol is to us. Stay with me now. A while back I switched the mouthwash we were using for the same brand except alcohol free. My husband pointed out he likes the one with alcohol because the burning makes it "feel like it's working." I agreed that I liked it to burn (to feel that it's working) but had an idea I had read that alcohol is bad for oral hygiene, so I looked it up and confirmed it, and we stuck with the non-alcohol mouthwash. But that feeling, that "it's burning, so it's working", that's a kind of ritual, isn't it? It's the same reason Americans rely on hydrogen peroxide when that's a terrible thing to put on injuries, since it causes damage to living cells. So maybe the Bagdad battery was the "it's burning, so it's working" of that community. You put your spell in the jar and you get a little spark, so now you know the spell was done properly. And once the battery gets too old and stops giving a spark, you buy or craft a new one so you're always sure your spells went in properly. After all, you need that burn to know it's working!

I am a partner at an architecture firm, responsible for training young architects. One of the first things I tell new hires is that if they ever think I`m wrong, to tell me, because then I can correct my knowledge, or correct their knowledge, and then we can both be right. I love this back and forth.

And thus Milo took the first step towards his goal of getting the entire field of Archeology drunk.

I'm so glad Dr. Hafford brought up the ground breaking ceremony when talking about ritual. I think we tend to think of ancient rituals as weird, esoteric religious incantations from horror movies, when really they are just things from daily life! Which actually are weird, esoteric, and religious, but no more horrific than candles on a birthday cake, or saying "bless you" when someone sneezes .

This is wholesome. THE INTERNET IS FINALLY LIVING UP TO ITS POTENTIAL OF BEING A PLACE PEOPLE CAN EASILY AND RESPECTFULLY SHARE INFORMATION

Milo your reaction to Dr. Hafford’s criticism was a joy to witness. It’s incredible to see someone so completely open to correction and so willing to alter their stance given new information. I’ve never seen such a lack of toxic ego before, and it makes me respect the hell out of you.

A consistent theme of my watching Milo’s videos has been that the actual story behind a lot of archaeological conspiracy theories is waaaaay more interesting that the theories