It was practiced in much of the ancient world, from China and India to Greece. Alchemy migrated to Egypt and was later revived in 12th-century Europe through translations of Arabic texts into Latin. Medieval European alchemists made some useful discoveries, including mineral acids and alcohol.

What do alchemists use?

To that end, alchemists relied on three primary components: cucurbits, alembics, and lutes–tools that were then assembled into complex apparatuses, which were heated to separate substances into their purest forms. Cucurbits were round containers made to hold the substance being distilled from one thing into another.

Where was alchemy practiced?

Alchemy has been practiced in Mesopotamia, Ancient Egypt, Persia, India, and China, in Classical Greece and Rome, in Muslim civilization, and then in Europe up to the 19th century—in a complex network of schools and philosophical systems spanning at least 2500 years.