Pre-Industrial Revolution of Asbestos
For a presentation that I have coming up, I decided to undertake a deep dig into the use of asbestos prior to the industrial revolution. Many journal articles contain partial lists, but I decided to be more comprehensive. My list is as follows:
•Many different names including asbestus, asbestinon, and amiantus
•Stone Age – Used in Africa to strengthen pottery
•2000 to 3000 BC – Egyptians used asbestos burial shrouds to keep the ashes together during cremation
•3000 BC – Finland using asbestos rock to pack crevices in log huts and strengthen earthenware pots and utensils
•400 BC – Greek Sculptor Callimachus made a statue of gold of Athene using a wick of “Magic Flax” which kept burning night and day. The asbestos wick was everlasting. The Vestal Virgins did the same in Rome
•300 BC – Theophrastus in On Stones referred to a substance resembling rotten wood and burned with no harm. He was a student of Aristotle
•Pre-80 AD — Pliny de Elder in Natural History wrote of a non-combustible linen that also had sound-dampening abilities. No text supported that smelled bad or causes slave health problems. He discusses India and Arcadia, including the use of asbestos in funerals, as confirmed by later discoveries.
•First Century – Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica, described reusable handkerchiefs made of asbestos that could be cleaned and whitened with fire
•First Century – Geographer Strabo identifies asbestos quarry on the island of Evvoia or at Carystus. Fibrous stone combed and spun like wool to make flame-resistant cloth such as napkins and handkerchiefs
•800 — Charlemagne (King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor) used asbestos to entertain his guests with asbestos tablecloths, cleaned in a fire after banquet
•1095 — Used with trebuchet to hurl flaming bags of tar wrapped in asbestos when putting a city under siege
•1250 — Marco Polo documented fire-resistant property and visited an asbestos mine to understand the mineral’s origin
•15th Century – used in body armor
•1566 – Majolus sees asbestos cloth in Venice
•1660 — Asbestos Stone Juice medicine sold by apothecaries in Spain (not astringent to the taste)
•1660 to 1700 – Royal Society of England published a series of eight reviews/letters detailing the then history of asbestos
•1700s – Norway manufactures asbestos wicks and paper
•1750 — Manufacturing plant in the Ural Mountains in Russia after asbestos discovered in 1720, manufactured textiles, socks, gloves, and handbags
•1830 — in the U.K., proposed dress for firemen
•1840 – “Asbestos Young Ladies” reference in a novel discussing their playing fast and loose with their reputations
Good resource is The History of Silk, Cotton, Linen, Wool, and Other Fibrous Substances published in 1845, starting on page 392
Let me know if you believe that I missed anything significant, either by leaving a comment or sending me an email at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. Thanks. Marty