posted on Nov, 6 2012 @ 09:44 AM
Greetings, ATS!
So lets take a little trip back in time...to approximately 80 B.C., off the Southern coast of Greece. On board a heavily laden merchant vessel is a
small, wooden box containing a device now known as the Antikythera Mechanism. Perhaps a storm arises, or pirates attack, but for whatever reason, our
boat sinks, taking the wooden box and its contents to the bottom of the ocean.
Fast forward to 1900, when the shipwreck was discovered and the wooden box recovered. What was inside? A strange contraption that held scientists in
speculative thrall for more than a century.
Allow me to introduce you to the Antikythera Mechanism.
So....what is it? Well, for over a hundred years scientists and archeologists have tried to unravel the mystery of the Antikythera Mechanism.
Previous researchers have used the latest technologies available to them -such as x-ray analysis- to try to begin to unravel its complex mysteries.
Now a new initiative is building on this previous work, using the very latest techniques available today. The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project
is an international collaboration of academic researchers, supported by some of the world's best high-technology companies, which aims to completely
reassess the function and significance of the Antikythera Mechanism.
Preliminary guesses about the mechanism included an astrolabe, an orrery, or even an astronomical clock. Whatever its purpose, one thing was clear,
the Antikythera Mechanism is the most sophisticated mechanism known from the ancient world....the next example of something similar won't be made for
1,000 years.
So, what is it? Well, according to
The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project, its
The Antikythera Mechanism is now understood to be dedicated to astronomical phenomena and operates as a complex mechanical "computer" which tracks
the cycles of the Solar System.
Research is still ongoing. In 2006, the project published their findings in
Nature
and held an international conference to release their findings. The project also plans to release new information sometime in the next year or so.
So....the reason I shared this with you is because I'm constantly amazed at the creativity and capabilities of ancient people. Who would have
thought 2,000 years ago that such a complex machine could exist?
Hope you enjoy,
smylee
sources used:
picture source
the Antikythera Museum Research Project