The Antikythera Mechanism: the mysterious ancient machine that should not exist?

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek astronomical device that sponge divers discovered in 1900 off the coast of Antikythera; they recovered various fragments of it the following year, in 1901. 

This device has been called one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th century.

This mechanism was an ancient Greek machine made up of gears and cogs. About 30 individual cogs survive in the fragments we have today, although reconstructions indicate the complete machine would have contained around 37 gears, with roughly seven missing or too damaged to see. 

It was made from a single bronze sheet in the late 2nd century BC, and it is believed to have been made by a team of skilled workers and builders on the island of Rhodes. 

It was originally kept in a wooden case and had a series of dials and pointers that could be adjusted to follow the positions of the sun, moon, and planets. 

Greek inscriptions cover the device and show that its intented purpose was for detailed sky-watching.

When functional, the mechanism was powered by a hand-crank.

Specifically, the Antikythera mechanism could correctly predict the movements of objects in the sky in a way that was not possible with other tools of the time.

It followed the Metonic cycle of 19 years and the Saros cycle of 223 lunar months, both critical because they let observers know when eclipses would occur. 

However, it used a special gear system, an innovation that did not appear again in Europe until the 14th century.

This breakthrough had a significant effect on our understanding of ancient Greek technology and astronomy, and it showed that Greeks were far more advanced than previously thought.

One of the biggest questions about the Antikythera mechanism is who its makers were.

Despite extensive research, its creator is still unknown, but scholars believe it was made on Rhodes, where Hipparchus, a well-known Greek astronomer, studied celestial events.

Given its complexity, another question about the Antikythera mechanism is how the ancient Greeks came up with such advanced technology.

The device is a very complex piece of machinery that was clearly ahead of its time. 

Derek J. de Solla Price, a physicist and historian of science, was one of the first to study the Antikythera mechanism in the 1950s and he called it a 'computer' of the ancient world. 

It is possible that the Greeks had access to knowledge and tools that have since been lost, or that they developed their advanced ideas through trial and error over many years. 

The Antikythera mechanism was found on a sunken ship, a situation that has led to questions about how it got there and whether it was meant for a particular person or was part of a bigger load.

In fact, the ship was carrying a range of luxury items to Rome. Other objects have been recovered from the wreck, including bronze statues, glassware, and ceramic pots. 

According to these theories, the mechanism was on its way to a Roman patron. 

The Antikythera mechanism has also led new scientists and engineers to study ancient technology and building methods, prompting researchers from the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project to use modern imaging methods to study it in detail.

They have been able to create digital reconstructions that give new ideas about how it was made and how it worked. 

Currently, the Antikythera mechanism is on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens.