5 Baffling Ancient Inventions Which Are Now Lost

We believe that we are quite advanced and are at the peak of technology. But there existed inventions which were legendary in their status and uses. The mystery is how were the people able to create such things with the technology prevalent at their time.

Here are five such ancient inventions which are sure to surprise you.

1. Mithridate or Mithridatium

This drug is said to have been created using an incredible 65 ingredients by King Mithridates VI of Pontus. It was much sought after in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It could counter all sorts of poison. It was later improved upon by King Nero's physician Andromachus.

2. Damascus Steel

In the Middle East in the medieval times, swords of this steel were produced using a raw substance known as Wootz steel. The swords were very strong and are said to have been able to cut through rifle barrels.

It was first used in 300 BC and the secrets of making Damascus Steel were lost in 1800 though many attempts to recreate it have been partially successful.

Here is a video explaining the history of Damascus Steel-

3. Vitrium Flexile or Flexible Glass

Isidore of Seville recounts the story of the craftsman who made the glass. He brought a drinking bowl made of flexible glass before Roman Emperor Tiberius Caesar who threw it on the floor. Upon impact, the bowl dentend but did not break. The man then repaired the bowl with the help of a small hammer. After the man swore to the Emperor that he alone knew the technique to making the glass, the Emperor had him beheaded as he believed it would reduce the value of gold and silver.

2. Greek Fire

Greek fire was an incendiary weapon developed and used by the Byzantine in circa 672. It was used in naval battles and was sprayed through pipes of some sort. It could only be extinguished with vinegar, sand and urine and burned even on water. This made the opponent's life on the battlefield  very difficult. It was a closely guarded state secret known only to a select few and was lost with the empire itself.

1. Heat Ray Gun

Archimedes was a Greek Mathematician who is credited with inventing great tools and machines. One of these was the Heat Ray Gun which he used during the Siege of Syracuse. He used mirrors as parabolic reflectors to destroy incoming ships by setting them on fire.