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Distillation in antiquity
#1
I was wondering, how far was the knowledge of distillation in general developed by the Greeks and could their know-how have been passed on to the Byzantines? I'm particularly interested in the distillation of petroleum.
References to ancient texts and where to find them would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Hornblower
Hans Nielsen
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#2
Quote:I was wondering, how far was the knowledge of distillation in general developed by the Greeks and could their know-how have been passed on to the Byzantines? I'm particularly interested in the distillation of petroleum.
References to ancient texts and where to find them would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

Hornblower
I've always read that distillation of most substances is first documented in the Arab world of the early middle ages. Brittanica says that Artistotle mentions purifying seawater by evaporation, and that the Natural History of Pliny mentions heating rosin and collecting the oils which are given off on a piece of wool, so it looks like there are some classical precedents.
Nullis in verba

I have not checked this forum frequently since 2013, but I hope that these old posts have some value. I now have a blog on books, swords, and the curious things humans do with them.
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#3
The Roman architect Vitruv describes in his de architecura libri x distillation procedures.

A german book could be of interest of you. The title is Summa destillationis and it's written by Prof. Heinz Prinzler. But I don't know if it's easy to find, because it was published in the GDR. I'll have a look in my version later if I find something that could be of interest for you.
[size=85:2j3qgc52]- Carsten -[/size]
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#4
A difficult and under researched problem. Perhaps the best general books on distillation in English are:

Story of Alchemy and Early Chemistry By John Maxson Stillman, published by Kessinger Publishing, 2003, ISBN 0766132307, 9780766132306 - 584 pages

A Short History of the Art of Distillation from the Beginnings Up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal By R. J. Forbes,published by BRILL, 1970, ISBN 9004006176, 9789004006171 405 pages

The Mount Athos manual (JR Partington, Chemical Arts in the Mount Athos Manual (Isis vol. 22, 1934, pp. 136-150) has included in it material from between the 8th to the 14th century mentions the distillation of raki - which needs 4-5 distillations. But other manuscripts seem to be silent on the matter. Byzantine alchemical manuscripts are extant and show all the equipment needed for distillation.

The references in John Haldon,“‘Greek Fire’ Revisited: Recent and Current Researchâ€
Peter Raftos
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#5
For what is worth:

During the 2004 Oltmpics there was an album called "Ancient Food and Drink". All dishes photographed in reconstructed ancient utensils.

Among the photos there was one of a distillation utensil made of clay.

Sorry don´t own the book but I am prepare to kill for a copy :twisted: :twisted:

Just in case you have a friend who has a friend who...etc etc

Kind regards
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#6
Quote:The Roman architect Vitruv describes in his de architecura libri x distillation procedures.

A german book could be of interest of you. The title is Summa destillationis and it's written by Prof. Heinz Prinzler. But I don't know if it's easy to find, because it was published in the GDR. I'll have a look in my version later if I find something that could be of interest for you.
Beg pardon, but I can't find any reference to distillation in books VIII, IX, or X of Vitruvius after a quick glance.

Those references sound very interesting, Peter!
Nullis in verba

I have not checked this forum frequently since 2013, but I hope that these old posts have some value. I now have a blog on books, swords, and the curious things humans do with them.
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#7
Quote:
Tiberius Clodius Corvinus:309m71w5 Wrote:The Roman architect Vitruv describes in his de architecura libri x distillation procedures.

A german book could be of interest of you. The title is Summa destillationis and it's written by Prof. Heinz Prinzler. But I don't know if it's easy to find, because it was published in the GDR. I'll have a look in my version later if I find something that could be of interest for you.
Beg pardon, but I can't find any reference to distillation in books VIII, IX, or X of Vitruvius after a quick glance.
I got this information from the german book I mentioned and must admit I haven't read Vitruv myself. But it says that Vitruv describes how do gain carbon black by a distillation process in a marmor-clad chamber which is called laconium. Unfortunately Prinzler doesn't mention where exactly.

Another primary source that - according to Prinzler - describes distillation procedures is from the greek physician Dioskurides Pedanios (1st century). He describes in the 5th book of his Materia Medica the extraction of Mercury from cinnabarite.
[size=85:2j3qgc52]- Carsten -[/size]
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#8
Stefanos,
That is a very nice find of an alembic head/still head. I think it was dug up at Pergamon. A chemical analysis of the remains of the contents inside some of the vessels found there showed distilled resin of pine or cypress, which had been used since ancient times for sealing containers and as a preservative in the storage of wine. The majority of those vessels date from the second half of the thirteenth century. Therefore, it seems that during that period at least viticulture was extensively practiced. See Rheidt, K. “Byzantinische Wohnhauser des 11. bis 14. Jahrhunderts in Pergamon.â€
Peter Raftos
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#9
Thank you everyone for your help so far.
I believe I can get hold of a copy of Forbes's book, as I live in The Netherlands. A museum in Leiden has got a copy of that work.

Regards,

HHornblower
Hans Nielsen
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#10
Thans for info Peter!

Kind regards
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#11
Quote:I was wondering, how far was the knowledge of distillation in general developed by the Greeks and could their know-how have been passed on to the Byzantines? I'm particularly interested in the distillation of petroleum.
References to ancient texts and where to find them would be greatly appreciated.

Destillation of crude oil was apprently unknown, although evidence for the use of the still exists. Here a small collection of some secondary material ([url:334bw1mp]http://www.webfilehost.com/?mode=viewupload&id=6891752[/url]), including:

F. Sherwood Taylor: "A Survey of Greek Alchemy", ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', Vol. 50, Part 1 (1930), pp. 109–139

F. Sherwood Taylor: "The Evolution of the Still", ''Annals of Science'', Vol. 5, No. 3 (1945), pp. 185–202

Martin Levey: "The Earliest Stages in the Evolution of the Still", ''Isis'', Vol. 51, No. 1 (1960), pp. 31–34

+ Forbes' Ancient Technology (1964)
Stefan (Literary references to the discussed topics are always appreciated.)
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