by Lisa Fillers

Created on: January 26, 2011

Man has made great strides in the development of technology and flight and has even walked on the moon.  However, in many ways it appears mankind has grown dumber over the centuries.  One need only read history books and watch programming on history channels to see the extent  to which this is true.

The Royal Library of Alexandria, Founded in 283 BC in Alexandria, Egypt, by the Pharaoh Ptolomy II Stoer, burned sometime between 48 BC and 391 AD.  It was modeled after the Lyceum of Aristotle in Athens, Greece, and held much ancient history, literature, and knowledge that was forever lost.  It was a museum and a shrine to the Muses, where at one time over one hundred scholars lived.  Prior to burning, the library held over half a million documents from Egypt, Greece, Persia, Assyria, India, and many other nations.  Many artifacts have been found over the centuries for which the knowledge to produce was thought to have been held in the text of these lost documents.

The ancient Battery of Baghdad, or Parthian Battery, was created in Mesopotamia in the early centuries AD.  The batteries consisted of three pieces including a terra cotta pot, a copper cylinder, and an iron rod.  It is thought they used grape juice or vinegar.  One theory of their use was in electroplating since a number of very fine silver artifacts from ancient Iraq were found which were plated in several layers of gold.

The exact science of how and why the great pyramids of Egypt were built has always been a mystery to scholars.  Stonehenge in England has also been a source of much study.  It has now been determined the stone from which it was constructed was not native to the area in which it is located.  This leaves another perplexing mystery as the stone is too heavy for any known means of transportation to the site on which it is built.

A sundial discovered in the Boyne Valley in Ireland is over five thousand years old and thought to be the oldest sundial found.  With eight perfect sections, the eighteen inch sundial allowed its Stone Age creators to tell time with extreme precision.

Cleopatra, who was born in late 69 BC and lived until August 12, 30 BC, was an ancient Greek queen and the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.  It is said she ground the royal blue gemstone, Lapis Lazuli, for use as an eyeshadow.  It is a well known fact that artifacts found in the tombs of pharaohs of Ancient Egypt contained remnants of oils

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