The Antikythera Mechanism is an ancient artifact found in 1901 at the bottom of the Aegean Sea. To this day, it is considered one of the main mysteries of ancient civilization. This discovery debunked all the myths about the primitive technology of antiquity and forced scientists to reconsider their opinions regarding the then technologies. Today it is even called "the first analog computer." Today we will take a closer look at this mysterious object.
Discovery history
In the spring of 1900, two boats with sponge fishers, returning from the African coast along the Aegean Sea, anchored off a small Greek island called Antikythera. It is located between the southern part of mainland Greece and the island of Crete. Here, at a depth of about 60 meters, divers noticed the ruins of an ancient ship.
A year later, Greek archaeologists began to explore the sunken ship with the help of divers. It was a Roman merchant ship that was wrecked as early as 80-50 BC. Amongmany artifacts were found in its ruins: marble and bronze statues, amphorae and so on. Some of the works of art raised from the bottom of the Aegean Sea ended up in the Athens Archaeological Museum.
According to the most logical hypothesis, a ship loaded with trophies or diplomatic gifts was heading to Rome from the island of Rhodes. As you know, during the conquest of Greece by Rome, there was a systematic export of cultural values to Italy. Among the finds recovered from the wreck was a lump of corroded bronze, devoid of any form due to a dense layer of lime deposits. It was originally mistaken for a fragment of a statue.
Study
The first studies of the same coma were carried out by archaeologist Valerios Stais. Having got rid of lime deposits, he, to his deepest surprise, discovered a rather complex mechanism with a large number of gears, drive shafts, and measuring scales. Ancient Greek inscriptions were also visible on the object, some of them were deciphered. After lying on the seabed for about two thousand years, the mechanism was badly damaged. The wooden frame, on which, apparently, all parts of the device were attached, completely disintegrated. Metal parts have undergone severe corrosion and deformation. The study was also complicated by the fact that some elements of the mechanism were lost. In 1903, the first scientific publication was published, in which a description of the Antikythera mechanism was presented - this was the name of the mysterious device.
Price reconstruction
The work of clearing the device was very painstaking and lasted several decades. Its reconstruction was recognized as a practically hopeless affair, so the device was not studied for a long time. Everything changed when he came to the attention of the English historian and physicist Derek de Solla Price. In 1959, the scientist published the article "The Ancient Greek Computer", which became an important milestone in the study of the find.
According to Price's assumption, the Greek Antikythera mechanism was created around 85-80 AD. BC e. However, radiocarbon and epigraphic analyzes carried out in 1971 pushed back the estimated period of creation by another 20-70 years.
In 1974, Price presented a theoretical model of the mechanism. Based on it, the Australian explorer Allan Georgi, together with the watchmaker Frank Percival, made the first working model. A few years later, a more accurate replica of the Antikythera mechanism was constructed by British inventor John Gleave.
In 1978, the French ocean explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau went to the place of discovery to find the rest of the remains of the artifact. Unfortunately, his attempt was unsuccessful.
Wright reconstruction
A significant contribution to the study of the Antikythera mechanism - the biggest mystery of Antiquity - was made by the Englishman Michael Wright, who worked at the Imperial College London. To study the device, he used the method of linear X-ray tomography. The first achievements of the scientist were presented to the public in 1997year. They made it possible to correct and systematize Price's conclusions.
International Study
In 2005, an international project called "Research of the Antikythera Mechanism" was launched. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of Greece, in addition to the Greeks, scientists from Great Britain and America took part in it. In the same year, new fragments of the mechanism were found at the site of the death of a Roman ship. With the help of the latest technologies, about 95% of the inscriptions printed on the device (about two thousand characters) were read. Michael Wright, meanwhile, continued his research and in 2007 presented a modified model of the ancient device. A year later, a book about the Antikythera mechanism appeared, which was published by the British scientist Joe Merchant.
With the joint efforts of scientists from different parts of the Earth, the artifact is opening up to modern man more and more, thereby expanding our understanding of the level of development of ancient science and technology.
Original fragments
All metal parts of the Antikythera mechanism that have survived to this day are made of sheet bronze. Its thickness in different parts of the device varies in the range of 1-2 millimeters. As you can see in the photo, the Antikythera mechanism has almost completely corroded over two thousand years, but on most of its fragments, you can still identify the elegant details of the most complex device. To date, 7 large (A-G) and 75 small fragments of the mysterious artifact are known.
The main part of the preserved elements of the internal mechanism is the remains of 27 gears with a diameter of 9-130 mm,placed in a complex sequence on 12 separate axes - was placed inside the largest fragment (217 mm), which received the index "A". Most of the wheels were attached to shafts that rotated in holes made in the body. Based on the outline of the hull remains (one face and a rectangular joint), it can be assumed that the part was rectangular. The concentric arcs, which are clearly visible on the X-ray, were part of the lower dial. Near the edge of the frame are the remains of a wooden plank separating the dial from the case. It is assumed that initially there were two such strips in the device. At some distance from the side and back faces of the frame, traces of two more fragments of wood can be seen. At the corner of the hull, they closed into an articulation with a beveled corner.
124mm Fragment B consists mainly of the remains of an upper dial with a pair of broken shafts and gear marks. It adjoins fragment A, while the third 64 mm fragment (E), with another part of the dial, is located between them. By putting together the described parts, you can get acquainted with the device of the rear panel, which consists of a pair of large dials. They are spirals of concentric converging rings placed one above the other on rectangular plastic. The first dial has five such rings, and the second has four. Fragment F, which was discovered already in the 21st century, also contains part of the back dial. It shows traces of woodencorner pieces.
Fragment C has a size of about 120 millimeters. Its largest element is the corner of the dial on the left side, which forms the main "display". This dial had two concentric graduated scales. The first of them was cut from the outer side of a large round hole directly on the plate. The scale was marked with 360 divisions divided into 12 groups of 30 divisions. Each of the groups was named after the sign of the zodiac. The second scale was already divided into 365 divisions, also divided into 12 groups, called the months of the Egyptian calendar.
Next to the corner of the dial was a small latch, which actuated the trigger. It served to fix the dial. On the reverse side of the fragment is a concentric detail with the remains of a tiny gear wheel. It was part of a mechanism that outputs information about the phases of the moon.
On all the fragments described, traces of bronze plates are visible, which were installed on top of the dials and contained various inscriptions. What was left of them after cleaning the artifact is now called Fragment G. Basically, these are the smallest scattered pieces of bronze.
Fragment D has two wheels that are aligned with one another with a thin plate laid between them. Their shape is slightly different from round, and the shaft on which they, apparently, should have been attached, is missing. On other fragments that have come down to us, there was no place for these wheels, so it is only possible to establish their true purpose only approximately.
All artifact fragmentsare kept in the Athens National Archaeological Museum. Some of them are on display.
Assignment of the Antikythera Mechanism
Even at the beginning of the study, thanks to the scales and inscriptions preserved on the mechanism, it was identified as some kind of astronomical device. According to the first hypothesis, it was a navigational tool like an astrolabe - a circular map of the starry sky with devices for astronomical observations, in particular for determining the coordinates of stars. The invention of the astrolabe is attributed to the ancient Greek astronomer Hipparchus, who lived in the second century BC. However, it soon became clear that the find was a much more complex device. In terms of complexity and miniaturization, the Greek Antikythera mechanism can be compared with the astronomical clock of the 18th century. It includes more than three dozen gears. Their teeth are made in the form of equilateral triangles. The number of teeth in the Antikythera mechanism cannot be calculated due to the absence of many elements. The high complexity of manufacturing and its impeccable accuracy suggest that this device had predecessors, but they have never been found.
The second hypothesis suggests that the artifact is a "flat" version of the mechanical celestial globe created by Archimedes (ca. 287-212 BC) mentioned by ancient authors. This globe was first mentioned by Cicero in the first century BC. e. How this device was arranged inside, so farunknown. There is an assumption that it consisted of a complex system of gears, like the Antikythera mechanism. Cicero also wrote about another similar device created by Posidonius (c. 135-51 BC). Thus, the existence of ancient mechanisms, comparable in sophistication to the discovery of the early 20th century, is confirmed by ancient authors.
In 1959, Price hypothesized that the Greek artifact was an instrument for determining the position of the Moon and Sun relative to the fixed stars. The scientist called the device an "ancient Greek computer", meaning by this definition a mechanical computing device.
Further study of the fascinating find showed that it is a calendar and astronomical calculator that was used to predict the location of celestial bodies and demonstrate their movement. Thus, this mechanism was much more complex than Archimedes' celestial globe.
According to one of the hypotheses, the device in question was created at the Academy of the Stoic philosopher Posidonius, located on the island of Rhodes, which in those days had the glory of the center of astronomy and "engineering". It was assumed that the development of the mechanism belonged to the astronomer Hipparchus, since the artifact implemented the ideas of his theory of the motion of the moon. However, the conclusions of the participants of the international research project, published in the summer of 2008, suggest that the concept of the device appeared in the colonies of Corinth, whose scientific traditions came from Archimedes.
Front panel
Due to the poor preservation and fragmentation of parts that have survived to modern man, the reconstruction of the Antikythera mechanism can only be hypothetical. Nevertheless, thanks to the painstaking work of scientists, we can present in general terms the principle of operation and functions of the device.
It is assumed that after setting the date, the device was activated by turning the knob located on the side of the case. A large 4-spoke wheel was connected with numerous gears rotating at different speeds and mixing the dials.
The movement had three main graduated dials: two on the back and one on the front. Two scales were depicted on the front panel: a movable internal and a fixed external one. The first had 365 divisions, indicating the number of days in a year. The second was the ecliptic (the circle of the celestial sphere along which the sun moves throughout the year), divided into 360 degrees and 12 sectors with the signs of the zodiac. Surprisingly, on this device it was even possible to correct the calendar error caused by the fact that there are 365.2422 days in a year. To do this, every four years the dial was turned by one division. The Julian calendar, in which every fourth year is a leap year, did not yet exist.
It is likely that the front dial had at least three hands: one indicated the date, and the other two indicated the position of the Moon and the Sun relative to the ecliptic. At the same time, the arrow of the position of the Moon took into account the features of its movement, discovered by Hipparchus. Hipparchus revealed that the orbit of ourThe satellite has the shape of an ellipse, which deviates 5 degrees from the orbit of the Earth. Near the perigee, the Moon moves along the ecliptic more slowly, and faster at the apogee. To display this unevenness on the device, a cunning system of gears was used. Most likely, there was a similar mechanism that displayed the movement of the Sun at a discount to the theory of Hipparchus, but it has not been preserved.
On the front panel there was also an indicator of the phases of the moon. The spherical model of the planet was half black, half silver. It was seen in different positions from the round window, demonstrating the current phase of the Earth's satellite.
It is believed that the most mysterious invention of antiquity, the Antikythera mechanism, could point to five planets that were known to Greek scientists at that time. We are talking about Venus, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. However, only one of the programs that could be responsible for this function was found (fragment D), but it is not possible to judge its purpose unambiguously.
The thin bronze plate covering the front dial had the so-called "parapegma" - an astronomical calendar indicating the rising and setting of individual constellations and stars. The names of each star were indicated by a Greek letter, which corresponded to the same letter on the zodiac scale.
Rear panel
The upper dial of the back panel was made in the form of a spiral with five turns, each of which had 47 compartments. Thus, 235 branches were obtained, displaying Metonscycle”, proposed by the astronomer and mathematician Meton back in 433 BC. e. This cycle was used to harmonize the lengths of the lunar month and the solar year. It is based on an approximate equality: 235 synodic months=19 tropical years.
In addition, the upper dial had a sub-dial divided into four sectors. Scientists have suggested that his pointer showed the "Calippus cycle", which consists of four "Metonic cycles" with the deduction of one day, which served to refine the calendar. However, already in 2008, researchers found on this dial the names of four pan-Hellenic games: Isthmian, Olympic, Nemean and Pythian. His hand, apparently, was included in the general transmission and made a quarter of a turn in a year.
The lower part of the back panel received a spiral dial with 223 compartments. He showed the cycle of Saros - a period after which, as a result of the repetition of the location of the Moon, the Sun and the nodes of the lunar orbit relative to each other, eclipses are repeated: solar and lunar. 223 is the number of synodic months. Since Saros is not equal to the exact number of days, in each new cycle the eclipses come 8 hours later. It should also be taken into account that the lunar eclipse can be seen from the entire night hemisphere of the Earth, while the solar eclipse is visible only from the area of the lunar shadow, which varies every year. In each new Saros, the band of the solar eclipse shifts towards the west by 120 degrees. In addition, it may shift to the south or north.
On the scale of the dial showing the Saros cycle, there isthe symbols Σ (lunar eclipse) and Η (solar eclipse), as well as numerical designations indicating the date and time of these eclipses. In the process of studying the artifact, scientists have established a correlation of these data with data from real observations.
On the back was another dial displaying the "Exeligmos cycle" or "triple Saros". It displayed the period of repetition of solar and lunar eclipses in whole days.
Cinema and Literature
To get even closer to this mysterious artifact, you can watch documentaries. The Antikythera mechanism has been the subject of films more than once. Below are the main pictures about him:
- “From the point of view of science. Star Clock. This film about the Antikythera Mechanism was filmed by the US National Geographic Channel in 2010. It tells the history of the study of the device and clearly shows its sophisticated working principle.
- “The world's first computer. Unraveling the Antikythera Mechanism. This film was made in 2012 by Images First Ltd. It also contains many fascinating facts and visual illustrations.
As for literature, the main book on the Antikythera mechanism is the book by Joe Merchant. The British journalist and writer devoted a lot of time to the study of archeology and ancient astronomy. This work was called the Antikythera Mechanism. The most mysterious invention of Antiquity. Anyone can download it in FB2, TXT, PDF, RTF and other popular formats. The work was written in 2008year. In his work on the Antikythera Mechanism, Merchant tells not only how the artifact was found and how scientists uncovered its secrets, but also about the difficulties that the researchers encountered along the way.
