In 1850 , archeologist Austen Henry Layard find an unusual piece of John Rock crystal in the North West Palace of Nimrud , Northern Iraq , lead to speculation about its use .
dub the " Nimrud lense " , the highly - polished piece dating back to around750 - 710 BCEwas first identify as a genus Lens , while a more outlandish possibility claims that it is evidence that ancient Assyrian astronomers produce telescopes well-nigh 3,000 years ago .
Professor Giovanni Pettinato of the University of Rome claimed in1999that the lens could explain the ancient Assyrians ' knowledge of astronomy . Pettinato added that ancientAssyriansdepicted Saturn as a deity surrounded by serpent , suggesting that they could have get word Saturn ’s rings .
However , Assyrians depicted snake everywhere , and the deficiency of address to any telescope inwritingfrom the period hint that it ’s almost certainly not what the object was used for . It would also make a poor calibre lens for atelescope , probably not allowing you to see anything you could then misunderstand as snakes .
That ’s not to say it could have no exercise as a visual aid , or as a tool to focus the Sun ’s rays to begin a fervency .
" It could certainly have been used as a rough magnifying glass , " the conservator of theBritish Museum , where the artifact is on display , save of it , " with a focal distance of 12 centimetres [ 4.7 in ] from the planing machine surface . "
However , these are probable accidental properties .
" There is no evidence that the Assyrians used lense , either for magnification or for making fire , and it is much more likely that this is a piece of inlay , perhaps for furniture , " the curator continues . " This is supported by Layard ’s statement that this object ' was buried beneath a mess of fragments of beautiful blue opaque glass , apparently the enamel of some object in ivory or wood , which had give-up the ghost ' . "
In short , youcoulduse theNimrudlens as a primitive magnifying shabu or the risky telescope you ’ve seen in your life , but in all likeliness what you are really doing is misusing furniture .
[ H / T : Atlas Obscura ]
