negligence

Question

Can you help me make it better? Thank you.

After almost neglected meaning that had been given to it during the Middle Ages, oil started to get its real meaning in the middle of the nineteenth century.

or

After the period of negligence during the Middle Ages, oil gained its importance in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Betsy · Accepted Answer

The second one sounds much clearer.

Likeguslee · Answer

After having been neglected during the Middle Ages, oil started to gain importance in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Or

After falling into a state of neglect during the Middle Ages, oil gained importance in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Alan.es · Answer

Just a couple of small modifications to that for me, so:

After a period of neglect during the Middle Ages, oil regained its importance in the middle of the nineteenth century.

Negligence has a meaning of not doing something you should have done so it is a failure in your duty of care for something or somebody.

Neglect doesn't have such a strong meaning - more forgetfulness or inattention to something.

Antonija · Answer

THank you Alan, Betsy and Likeguslee.

Nona the brit · Answer

But this also tells us that oil had an important meaning/use before the middle ages and that intrigues me - what exactly did they do with it before then?

Alan.es · Answer

The extract below is taken from this site:
http://www.energyinst.org.uk/education/oilandgas/uses.htm

Early uses of oil

There is evidence that humans have used petroleum products throughout history. Oil that had seeped to the surface would mostly evaporate and leave behind bitumen - the tarry component of the mixture of hydrocarbons from which it is composed. This has been used for thousands of years as a waterproofing agent, for plumbing, boat building and brick bonding. There is reference to bitumen being used as a coating for Moses' basket and Noah's Ark being 'pitched' inside and out with it.

The American Indians collected oil for medicines. The American settlers found its presence in the water supplies a contamination, but they learned to collect it to use as fuel in their lamps.

And the following extract from here:
http://www.loc.gov/rr/business/BERA/issue5/history.html

Ancient Use of Oil and Gas

Oil and gas have played an important role throughout world history. Ancient cultures used crude oil as a substance for binding materials and as a sealant for waterproofing various surfaces. Five thousand years ago, the Summerians used asphalt to inlay mosaics in walls and floors. Mesopotamians used bitumen to line water canals, seal joints in wooden boats and to build roads.1

By 1500 B.C., techniques for lighting consisted of a censer or fire pan filled with oil made of a certain volatility so that it would burn slowly and not cause uncontrollable flames or explosions. Over time, the wick oil lamp replaced the fire pan using a flammable oil similar to today's kerosene lanterns.2

The Chinese were the first to discover underground oil deposits in salt wells. 3 The Chinese recognized early on the importance and potential use of oil and gas. Around 500 B.C., ancient Chinese history describes wells over 100 feet deep containing water and natural gas along the Tibetan border. The Chinese constructed extensive bamboo pipelines drawing from the wells in order to transport oil and natural gas, which was used for lighting. By 1500 A.D., the Chinese were exploring and digging wells more than 2,000 feet deep.4

The Romans used flaming containers of oil as weapons of war. The Romans also used oil surface deposits for burning lamps. The importance and significance in the use of oil and gas can clearly be seen dating back over thousands of years.

During the mid 13th century in what is now modern-day Azerbaijan, in the Persian city of Baku, inhabitants devised methods and collected from oil seeps in the surface. By the mid 1590's, shallow pits were dug at Baku to facilitate the collecting of oil. The hand-dug holes reached depths of up to 115 feet.5 The holes dug at Baku were in essence primitive oil wells, making Baku one of the first true oil fields.

In 1650, Romania was the site of Europe's first commercial oil reservoir. This site was a major source of oil for Europe. More than 200 years later, Ploesti, Romania became the site of the world's first oil refinery.

Nona the brit · Answer

Thanks. I'd always assumed oil use was relatively recent!

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