These academicians have been greatly intrigued by a sophisticated 2,000-year-old mechanism identified as the Antikythera mechanism, or, in other words, the first computer. Ever since the calendar that was used to forecast astral events was excavated from a sunken Greek ship in 1901, it has posed significant enigmas to the researchers, as quoted by BGR.
The hand-powered instrument used a winding mechanism to map the position of the sun, moon, and planets in the solar system. It also served as a calendar, indicating the lunar phase and the time of eclipses. Thus, despite its specific purpose, the mechanism standing before them was more complex than any other tool that people designed in the next millennium.
At present, the Antikythera mechanism has been divided into 82 parts, and it is estimated that only a third of it is reconstructible, of which 30 are rusty bronze gear discs. Scientists from the University College in London have conducted an analysis of the device using 3D computer modeling to detail how this invention functioned, referring to it as a creation of genius.
Adam Wojcik, a materials scientist at UCL, said,
“We think our reconstruction corresponds to all the material evidence that scientists have deduced from the remaining pieces up to this year’s time. ”
The researchers have hypothesized that the device followed the sun’s, moon’s, and planets’ circular path in concentric rings based on Greek mythology that the universe follows Earth. This, as stated in Scientific Reports, unveils a creation of genius—cycles from Babylon, mathematics from Plato’s academy, the baby animal of Greek astronomical theories.
Even to this date, the discovery of the Antikythera mechanism remains fresh to the scientific community because it offers a glimpse of the level of technology that the ancient Greeks were capable of. Current and future endeavors aimed at discovering the mysteries of this marvelous gadget are expected to provide more information about this specific epoch’s high thinking.
