Antikythera mechanism
The Antikythera mechanism is believed to be an ancient mechanical analog computer (as opposed to most computers today which are digital computers) designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was discovered in the Antikythera wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, between Kythera and Crete, and has been dated to about 150-100 BC. It is especially notable for being a technological artifact with no known predecessor or successor; other machines using technology of such complexity would not appear until the 18th century.
Sometime during the year 1901, Elias Stadiatis, a Greek sponge diver, with a sponge diving group, discovered the wreck of an ancient cargo ship off Antikythera island at a depth of 50 meters. (Sponge divers had earlier retrieved several statues and other artifacts from the site. The mechanism itself was discovered in 1901.) The name has been confused in some recent publications with that of a politician of the same name.
It was noticed that a piece of rock recovered from the site had a gear wheel embedded in it. Examination revealed that the rock was in fact a heavily encrusted and corroded mechanism that had survived the shipwreck in three main parts and dozens of smaller fragments.The device itself was surprisingly thin, about 33 cm (13 in) high, 17 cm (6.7 in) wide, and 9 cm (3.5 in) thick, made of bronze and originally mounted in a wooden frame. It was inscribed with a text of over 2,000 characters, many of which have been deciphered.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau visited the wreck for the last time in 1978, but found no more remains of the Antikythera Mechanism. Professor Michael Edmunds of Cardiff University who led the study of the mechanism 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 carefully."
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