"The mechanism has over 30 gears, the most amazing feature of which is the incorporation of a sophisticated system of differentials. Gearing of this complexity was not known to exist until 1575!"

Using Google Alerts is a good way to keep up to date on media coverage of on-going developments in scientific research. I have requested these alerts with various combinations of search words - archaeology + computer + maps or GPS or 3D models or mtDNA etc.—to obtain updates on the topics I write about in the area of computer applications in archaeology.

The alerts, which I receive several times a week, provide links to news stories and thus tend to emphasize surprising research findings or announcements of odd theories:

• The discovery could accelerate efforts to clone woolly mammoths and other extinct beasts
• Device made for contractors helps archaeologists create first-ever digital blueprints
• Topographical or historical details in Gospel of John may be accurate

Some weeks ago, I received an alert about the Antikythera Mechanism, which caught my eye because it referred to two of the places I was planning to visit in October.

GRAPHIC - The Archaeological Site of Kamiros

The Antikythera Mechanism is the world's first known 'computer.' It was developed at an academy founded by Posidonius at Kamiros on the Greek island of Rhodes. In the first century BCE, the mechanism was on board a ship, part of the treasure transported to Rome to support a triumphal parade staged by Julius Caesar. Unfortunately, the ship sank in a storm off the island of Antikythera. Since the device was found in the wreck in the early 20th century, it has been the subject of much debate - some scholarly, some not.  

GRAPHIC – 1st model Various models of the mechanism have been constructed, based on fragments, now on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens (two of the fragments shown). CT scans of the pieces have revealed much about the interior GRAPHIC – 2nd model workings, and computer-enhanced, optical-imaging techniques were used to examine explanatory inscriptions on the many surfaces.

The mechanism has over 30 gears, the most amazing feature of which is the incorporation of a sophisticated system of differentials. Gearing of this complexity was not known to exist until 1575! The device determined the position of the sun and moon, and calculated other astronomical information such as the location of planets and the timing of eclipses. The possibility has even been raised that it was based on the concept of heliocentricity, rather than the then-dominant view espoused by Aristotle, that the Earth was the centre of the universe.

This ancient, and apparently lost, 'computer' technology is mentioned on various paranormal blogs to support the theory that alien beings (usually arriving from space in chariots of fire) passed on advanced technology - but departed without providing follow-up support, another concept years ahead of its time.

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