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As if the freakishly advanced Antikythera Mechanism wasn't astounding enough, a new analysis suggests the astronomical device is older than archaeologists assumed.
The Antikythera Mechanism was discovered in an ancient shipwreck near Crete in 1901 — a site that's still yielding remarkable archaeological treasures.
Whatever its purpose, nothing like it would appear for another 1,000 years; it's truly an object out of time.
The device itself bears inscriptions on the front and back. In the 1970s, the engravings were estimated to date from 87 B.C. But more recently, scientists examining the forms of the Greek letters in the inscriptions dated the mechanism to 150 to 100 B.C.
But Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier in 212 B.C., while the commercial grain ship carrying the mechanism is believed to have sunk sometime between 85 and 60 B.C. The new finding suggests the device may have been old at the time of the shipwreck, but the connection to Archimedes now seems even less likely.
originally posted by: the2ofusr1
I would imagine that the evolution of mechanics and metals would lead up to being able to manufacture this thing took a few years .There must be older less advanced versions that may have culminated in a one model fits all .How is it that we don't have evidence of the who's and when's . It ,not being a secret weapon and was probably available to other ships travelling at the time.Those old ancient maps that show the world ,including Antarctica must have been visited . I wonder what happened to all the evidence ,or maybe we have the evidence and the people in authority wont allow it to be interpreted correctly . a reply to: jadedANDcynical
the engravings were estimated to date from 87 B.C. But more recently, scientists examining the forms of the Greek letters in the inscriptions dated the mechanism to 150 to 100 B.C.
But Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier in 212 B.C., while the commercial grain ship carrying the mechanism is believed to have sunk sometime between 85 and 60 B.C. The new finding suggests the device may have been old at the time of the shipwreck, but the connection to Archimedes now seems even less likely.
originally posted by: jadedANDcynical
are there any other examples of technology contemporary with the device that display similar levels of sophistication?
While it is interesting that it might be 50-100 years older than previous thought the device is not a OOPART as it is clearly a Greek artifact.
It does fit in with the technology of the age it comes from and shows various errors in mathematics and theory prevalent in Hellenistic world of that time, ie that of a geocentric instead of a heliocentric view of the solar system.
originally posted by: Klassified
a reply to: Hanslune
Probably what scientists will be saying about us 2000 years from now. Lol!
originally posted by: the2ofusr1
I am not sure if you could point the finger at one person that may be the one but I have a suspension that a group of academics are gate keepers . I think there is plenty of evidence that large human bones have gone missing at the Smithsonian . Someone research all or a lot of old news papers and collected reports on the finds and it seems the evidence disappears .
originally posted by: jadedANDcynical
a reply to: Ridhya
And
a reply to: Hanslune
So, in a mechanical and engineering sense, the object does not fit in with others of it's own time and even though there are similarly somewhat advanced mechanisms, none of them approach the precision and small details to be found within the workings.
I know that as a species, we have been about as smart as we are now for as long as we have written history so having something like this is not out of the realm of the expected.
It (the existence of the device) does, to me at least, seem to imply that there are capabilities of our ancestors of which we are generally unaware.
originally posted by: the2ofusr1
I didn't see the French or the English mentioned directly in the Bible either but they are mentioned in the table of Nations in Genesis . a reply to: JohnnyCanuck ETA and most shovel bumbs dont write the papers and if they were to deviate too far of the path they might find themselves ridiculed . I am thinking about that guy that dated the Egyptian Sphinx to be much older do to the water erosion .Hes not a shovel bum but he is no gate keeper either .