by Playfuls Staff |
30th November 2006
An international team has unraveled
the secrets of a 2,000-year-old computer which could transform the way we think
about the ancient world. [more]
Professor Mike Edmunds and Dr
Tony Freeth, of Cardiff
University led the team
who believe they have finally cracked the workings of the Antikythera
Mechanism, a clock-like astronomical calculator dating from the second century
BC.
Remnants of a broken wooden and
bronze case containing more than 30 gears was found by divers exploring a
shipwreck off the island of Antikythera at the turn of the 20th century.
Scientists have been trying to reconstruct it ever since. The new research
suggests it is more sophisticated than anyone previously thought.
Detailed work on the gears in the
mechanism show that it was able to track astronomical movements with remarkable
precision. The calculator was able to follow the movements of the moon and the
sun through the Zodiac, predict eclipses and even recreate the irregular orbit
of the moon. The team believe it may also have predicted the positions of some
or all of the planets.
The findings suggest that Greek
technology was far more advanced than previously thought. No other civilisation
is known to have created anything as complicated for another thousand years.
Professor Edmunds 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
well."
The team was made up of
researchers from Cardiff, the National
Archaeological Museum of Athens and the Universities of Athens and Thessaloniki, supported
by a substantial grant from the Leverhulme Trust. They were greatly aided by
Hertfordshire X-Tek, who developed powerful X-Ray computer technology to help
them study the corroded fragments of the machine. Computer giant
Hewlett-Packard provided imaging technology to enhance the surface details of
the machine.
The mechanism is in over 80
pieces and stored in precisely controlled conditions in Athens where it cannot be touched. Recreating
its workings was a difficult, painstaking process, involving astronomers, mathematicians,
computer experts, script analysts and conservation experts.
The team is unveiling its full
findings at a two-day international conference in Athens from November 30 to December 1 and
publishing the research in the journal Nature . The researchers are now hoping
to create a computer model of how the machine worked, and, in time, a full
working replica. It is still uncertain what the ancient Greeks used the
mechanism for, or how widespread this technology was.
Professor Edmunds said: "It
does raise the question what else were they making at the time. In terms of
historic and scarcity value, I have to regard this mechanism as being more
valuable than the Mona Lisa."
