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.
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.