Fire- one of the best friends of man and the worst enemy- burns only when there is a combustible material, an oxidiser, and some source of heat are present. Like butane, oil, or some other inflammable liquid. In ancient times, people used to illuminate darkened rooms with the help of oil lamps and they needed continuous source of oils to keep the oil illuminated.
But did you know there are instances where these lamps kept burning even after the source of the fuel (oil) was fully used by the flame source? But, mysteriously, there are stories and written instances from across the globe, cultures and countries. These mysterious ever burning lamps were usually found when a tomb or other enclosed place was discovered and the lamp was found burning, even though the enclosure had been sealed for eons.
The various instances of ever-burning lamps are:
1. A lamp that over the door of the temple of Jupiter Ammon, in Egypt burned without the need of addition of the oil. According to Plutarch, the priests of the temple claimed that the lamp, although stood in the open air, neither wind nor rain put it out.
2. The altar of the Temple of Apollo Carneus, at Cyrene, and the great Temple of Aderbain, in Armenia are said to have ever burning lamps in ancient ages.
3. In 140 C.E., when the tomb of Pallas, was opened – a single lamp was found burning near the corpse. Alarmed, the assembly then tried to extinguish the lamp, but their attempts were futile. The lamp was finally put out when the liquid at the base of the lamp was removed from the lamp’s basin. There were several experiments done to determine the liquid, but it is still a mystery.
4. St. Augustine mentions an ever burning lamp in an Egyptian temple dedicated to Venus, and suggests that it was the work of the Devil.
5. During the reign of the emperor Justinian, a troop of soldiers found a lamp which, according to its inscription, was lit almost 550 years prior.
6. In England, when King Henry VIII established Church of England, following his parting from the Roman Catholic Church, instructed that Catholic churches and communities and even tombs be destroyed or incorporated into his new church. When, the tomb of a wealthy man, dated around the year 300 C.E. was opened, soldiers found a lamp that still burned. Many historians believe that the tomb belonged to none other than Constantius Chlorus, the father of the emperor Constantine.
7. In the 1600s France, a soldier from Switzerland who discovered a long-hidden tomb with a single burning lamp, which continued to burn even without fuel for several months until it was accidentally broken.
8. In India, there is an ancient Hindu temple of goddess Jwala (Fire), located in the lower Himalayan town of Jawalamukhi in Himachal Pradesh. It has a burning blue flame that comes from the rocks in various places within the temple, and is said to have been persistently burning since the beginning of its known history.
Although, no modern instances have been found yet, scientists are however, yet to declare an explanation for the extraordinary marvel. However, because the history provides only a written instances of ever-burning lamps and practically no physical proofs exist in modern times, most of the scientists are inclined to believe that these ever burning lamps is a mere folklore. So, unless someone finds another ever-burning lamp in the undiscovered tombs of ancient times, the mystery of ever-burning lamps will remain a mystery.
By: Archa Dave
