1901 “Antikythera Mechanism” Most Advanced Instrument Since Antiquity
Salvaged in 1901 from an early shipwreck near the Greek Island, Antikythera, the mysterious 2,000-year-old clockwork active component had inscriptions on it which suggested it had been inspired by the Greek mathematician Archimedes in earlier times. Images from the article in NEW SCIENTIST dates it back to about 100 B.C., consisting of over 30 bronze gear wheels and pointers enclosed in a wooden case. British, Greek and United States researchers have found it to be used for predicting astronomical events like the equinox and phases of the moon, it is also noted for recording the time and place of the original Olympic games.
The size of a wall clock, it is considered to be the most advanced scientific instrument from antiquity to ever surface. Mechanical clocks did not appear until medieval Europe for more than 1200 years from that period on. Thought to be a mechanical computer, it used sophisticated algorithms for calculating the motions of celestial bodies. The front of the devise shows the sun and moon positions, and possibly the zodiac planets—its back displays a 19-year lunisolar calendar and eclipse timing. Another theory is that it may have been used to show how heaven works by philosophers, an idea which was suggested by Cicero—a 1st century Roman author—stating that a bronze device (possibly the mechanism found in Greece) erroneously modeled movements of the Earth’s sun, Moon, and planets.
However, according to the article a recent deciphering took away the mystery of the Antikythera mechanism, showing that its calendar used local month names that matched those used by Greek colonies, founded by a city of Corinth—such as Syracuse in Sicily (Nature, DOI: 10.1038/nature07130). The deciphering was done by Alexander Jones of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World in New York, referring to the fact that a local calendar was used for demonstrations for small, educated elites rather than for astronomers.
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