An international team has unravelled the secrets of a 2,000-

year-old computer which could transform the way we think about

the ancient world.

Professor Mike Edmunds and Dr Tony Freeth, of Cardiff

University led the team who believe they have finally cracked the

workings of the Antikythera Mechanism, a clock-like astronomical

calculator dating from the second century BC.

Remnants of a broken wooden and bronze case containing more than 30

gears was found by divers exploring a shipwreck off the island of

Antikythera at the turn of the 20th century. Scientists have been trying

to reconstruct it ever since. The new research suggests it is more

sophisticated than anyone previously thought.

Detailed work on the gears in the mechanism show that it was able to

track astronomical movements with remarkable precision. The calculator

was able to follow the movements of the moon and the sun through the

Zodiac, predict eclipses and even recreate the irregular orbit of the moon.

The team believe it may also have predicted the positions of some or all

of the planets.

The findings suggest that Greek technology was far more advanced than

previously thought. No other civilisation is known to have created

anything as complicated for another thousand years.

Professor Edmunds said: “This device is just extraordinary, the only thing

of its kind. The design is beautiful, the astronomy is exactly right. The

way the mechanics are designed just makes your jaw drop. Whoever has

done this has done it extremely well.”

The team was made up of researchers from Cardiff, the National

Archaeological Museum of Athens and the Universities of Athens and

Thessaloniki, supported by a substantial grant from the Leverhulme Trust.

They were greatly aided by Hertfordshire X-Tek, who developed powerful

X-Ray computer technology to help them study the corroded fragments of

the machine. Computer giant Hewlett-Packard provided imaging

technology to enhance the surface details of the machine.

The mechanism is in over 80 pieces and stored in precisely controlled

conditions in Athens where it cannot be touched. Recreating its workings

was a difficult, painstaking process, involving astronomers,

mathematicians, computer experts, script analysts and conservation

experts.

The team is unveiling its full findings at a two-day international

conference in Athens from November 30 to December 1 and publishing

the research in the journal Nature . The researchers are now hoping to

create a computer model of how the machine worked, and, in time, a full

working replica. It is still uncertain what the ancient Greeks used the

mechanism for, or how widespread this technology was.

Professor Edmunds said: “It does raise the question what else were they

making at the time. In terms of historic and scarcity value, I have to

regard this mechanism as being more valuable than the Mona Lisa.”

written by Alun at http://archaeoastronomy.wordpress.com

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