German Archaeologist Wilhelm Konig, while digging in Khujut Rabu, just outside Baghdad in modern day Iraq, discovers a small clay jar, what would come to be called the Baghdad Battery. It is the first known example of a chemical electrical power source.
Batteries store power by suspening an electrolytic solution, that being a liquid with a surplus of electrons (such as lemon juice or acid) between an anode and cathode of differing electro negativity. when the two ends are connected through a circuit, the electrons in the electrolyte flow through the circuit, providing it with power.
The Baghdad Battery is very old, though it's exact age is unknown. It is generally placed at least of 2000 years of age, making it the oldest electrical cell in existence. It has three components: the jar, whose inside holds traces of an acidic liquid, an iron bar, and a copper tube, into which the iron bar was placed.
Though archaeologists and scholars still debate on the nature and use of the Battery (it provides a minute amount of power, so practical applications are few and far between), one thing is clear: even the ancient cultures had knowledge of electricity.
SOURCE: 'Riddle of Baghdad's Batteries', BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2804257.stm
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