March 29th, 2009

vines

Naphtha production?

I know that one of the (potential) ingredients in Greek fire was naphtha, and that naphtha was used as a sort of early Molotov cocktail in medieval warfare. But how was it mined and refined? What technology did the Byzantines use? (Or really, anyone else who used naphtha or Greek fire in battle sometime before 1300.)

Googled: "naptha in the ancient world", "naphtha production", "medieval naphtha" Everywhere I look seems to agree that naphtha was used, but I can't find anything on how it was produced.
Xmen: Brand

Spirit Jars

Hi all!

I've looked through the archives, and searched the internet to no avail. I'm writing a story where the main characters are attempting to catch a cauchemar (Nightmare Witch). I found a reference to the fact that cauchemars can be contained in spirit jars, but I cannot find anything else detailing these jars.

If it matters, the story is set in New Orleans.

Help? Does anyone know anything or can someone point me towards a source for information?

Thank you!