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- If one Italian scientist is correct then the telescope
was not invented sometime in the 16th century by Dutch spectacle makers,
but by ancient Assyrian astronomers nearly three thousand years earlier.
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- According to Professor Giovanni Pettinato of the University
of Rome, a rock crystal lens, currently on show in the British museum,
could rewrite the history of science. He believes that it could explain
why the ancient Assyrians knew so much about astronomy.
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- But experts on Assyrian archaeology are unconvinced.
They say that the lens is of such low quality that it would have been a
poor aid to vision.
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- Magnifying glass
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- It is called the Nimrud lens and it was found in 1850
by the legendary archaeologist Sir John Layard, during an epic series of
excavations at the palace of Nimrud in what is now Iraq.
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- Upon his return to England, he showed the lens to physicist
Sir David Brewer who thought it could have been used as a magnifying glass
or to concentrate the Sun's rays.
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- Used as a magnifying glass, it could have been useful
to Assyrian craftsman who often made intricate seals and produced minuscule
texts on clay tablets using a wedge-shaped script.
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- It is a theory many scientists might be prepared to accept,
but the idea that the rock crystal was part of a telescope is something
else. To get from a lens to a telescope, they say, is an enormous leap.
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- Saturn's serpents
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- Professor Pettinato counters by asking for an explanation
of how the ancient Assyrians regarded the planet Saturn as a god surrounded
by a ring of serpents?
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- Could they not have seen Saturn's rings through their
telescope and interpreted them as serpents? An unconvincing argument, say
experts. The Assyrians saw serpents everywhere. And why is it in their
many astronomical reports on clay tablets there is no mention of such a
device?
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- The conventional understanding of the invention of the
telescope is that it was developed in the 16th century by Dutch spectacle-makers
who held one lens in front of another.
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- One thing is sure: Galileo did not invent it - a common
misconception - although he was one of the first to turn it towards the
sky. By then, lenses used as spectacles had been known for hundreds of
years at least, and it has been a puzzle to historians why it took so long
for the telescope to be invented.
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- Commercial and military use
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- It may have been developed and then forgotten, or even
kept secret. However, experts regard this as unlikely given the commercial
and military uses that a telescope could serve.
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- Whatever its origin, as ornament, as magnifying lens
or part of a telescope, the Nimrud lens is the oldest lens in the world.
Looking at it evokes mystery and wonder. It can be seen in room 55 of the
British Museum, in case 9 of the Lower Mesopotamian Gallery
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- It may not be unique. Another, possibly 5th century BC,
lens was found in a sacred cave on Mount Ida on Crete. It was more powerful
and of far better quality than the Nimrud lens.
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- Also, Roman writers Pliny and Seneca refer to a lens
used by an engraver in Pompeii. So perhaps the ancients knew more about
lenses than we give them credit for.
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- Relevant Stories:
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- *Bright hopes for large telescopes (15 Jun 99 | Sci/Tech)
*New mirror for Ireland's 'Leviathan' telescope (28 Jun 99 | Sci/Tech)
*Far-sighted telescope opens eyes (28 Feb 99 | Sci/Tech) *Hubble in danger
of shutdown (25 Feb 99 | Sci/Tech)
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- Internet Links:
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- *British Museum - Treasures from Assyria *The Assyrians
*Who really invented the telescope? *History of the telescope
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- The BBC is not responsible for the content of external
internet sites.
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