An intriguing podcast caught my attention, from
Tech Stuff - How Stuff Works
- The Oldest Computer, podcast dated November 18, 2013, available on iTunes.
Very interesting episode. It turned out to be about the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient artifact found near Antikythera, an island off Greece and near Crete, and the unusual story surrounding the mechanism.
The creepy story. In 1901, a group of sponge divers while searching underwater saw a bunch of eerie naked, dead ladies on the sea floor - which turned out to be bronze and marble statues, which they just discovered were part of the cargo of a sunken ship. It was a huge find, spectacular, with many interesting treasures from antiquity. Among these was a lump of crusted, corroded bronze that looked like some gear, with 82 fragments in total. This fused and corroded lump of bronze was fitted inside a disintegrated wooden box, about the size of a mid-size hard bound dictionary. This artifact wasn't given much attention at first given all the other, more interesting and apparently more valuable finds. And for about a hundred years since it's discovery, this lump was a bit of a mystery and was poorly understood. But little did they know they had found something truly sublime.
The Antikythera Mechanism is a sublime artifact that was discovered off the island of Antikythera in Greece, about 1900-1901, and was little understood for about a hundred years since it's discovery! Photo of the Antikythera Mechanism fragment A, from Wikipedia.
Sophisticated computer for solar cycles.
Only in the last decade has the Antikythera Mechanism been better understood. And this has been achieved through the use of modern technology like the "BladeRunner" system, equipment that weighs tons and is used for detecting minute cracks in turbines before they result to mechanical failure. The BladeRunner can analyze to the level of a tenth of a millimeter, and unlike previous devices, could provide x-rays in comprehensive three dimensional views. Using this system, the distinct gears and internal workings of the corroded and fused bronze mechanism has been unlocked, and even the ancient inscriptions on bronze, unread for more than two thousand years, were once again revealed.
A reconstruction. Photo from the Antikytyera Mechanism Research Project.
It is now established that the Antikythera Mechanism is a sophisticated analog computer for solar cycles, predicting events in the solar system like eclipses, the positions of the sun, moon, planets and stars at certain dates, etc. What is highly intriguing is that the Mechanism doesn't just deal with simple events over months or a few years, but it accounts for solar events with long cycles like 19-year cycles, 76-year cycles, 54-year cycles, with the accuracy of a modern app or computer algorithm.
The workmanship of the gears has been recognized to be exemplary, without errors and tweaks, indicating that this specimen wasn't the first attempt of the builder, but that earlier models must have been made where more experimentation and fine tuning was done. Another amazing fact is that by dating of the other artifacts including coins, the Antikythera Mechanism is believed to be from the 2nd century B.C., and it is known that mechanisms of similar complexity and workmanship have only resurfaced about 1500 years later, at the emergence of late medieval clockwork!
The Prague astronomical clock, or Prague orloj, is a medieval astronomical clock located in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. This astronomical clock is ante-dated by the Antikythera Mechanism by about 1500 years! Orloj photos from Wikipedia.
The Antikythera Mechanism is so fascinating that there are numerous research projects and international, joint, cooperative government and privately funded teams who have scrutinized this unique artifact See for example the Antikytyera Mechanism Research Project. A number of replicas of the Anikythera Mechanism have also been created. And much of the research data is available on the web for open research by interested parties.
For anyone thinking that the Antikythera Mechanism was made by aliens, or left by time travelers, those ideas were shot down by the Tech Stuff podcast. The key points are that the materials, the technology used and the information generated is consistent with what is believed available at the time the mechanism was built, albeit it projects these aspects to a surprisingly high degree.
The Antikythera Mechanism fascinates me for two reasons.
1. Because I have a personal attraction for (true) celestial bodies. That's also the reason why I've invested in my very own IWC Perpetual Calendar Double Moon, and why I gravitate towards models like the Lange and Patek annual calendars with moon phase. See my blogs on these watches for a fresh perspective.
2. This ancient artifact points to the genius of ancient man. Rather than mere apes and hominids that have acquired extra wit, ancient man showed a prowess for building from the early dawn of civilizations, and as more and more raw materials were processed and made widely available, greater and greater was the complexity of mans inventions. The creative genius of man from the very start is a reflection of the character of our Creator God, whether modern man (I.e. people today) wants to recognize it or not.
If you are intrigued by the genius displayed by ancient man, by "Ooparts" or Out-of-place artifacts, by the grand scale and deep insights of ancient architecture and how they permeate the globe - then check out this blog entry.
To close this blog entry - the popularity of this ancient artifact is highlighted by the extension of the Antikythera shipwreck exhibition in Athens, until January 2014. If you are favored to be visiting Athens while the exhibit is open, this should be on your list of Top Ten things to do or places to visit in Greece!
It's great to learn about new things!
I'll keep you posted on more interesting finds I come across.
Let me know if you've found something truly unusual that you want me to dig into.
Bye for now.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tech Stuff - How Stuff Works
- The Oldest Computer, podcast dated November 18, 2013, available on iTunes.
Very interesting episode. It turned out to be about the Antikythera Mechanism, an ancient artifact found near Antikythera, an island off Greece and near Crete, and the unusual story surrounding the mechanism.
The creepy story. In 1901, a group of sponge divers while searching underwater saw a bunch of eerie naked, dead ladies on the sea floor - which turned out to be bronze and marble statues, which they just discovered were part of the cargo of a sunken ship. It was a huge find, spectacular, with many interesting treasures from antiquity. Among these was a lump of crusted, corroded bronze that looked like some gear, with 82 fragments in total. This fused and corroded lump of bronze was fitted inside a disintegrated wooden box, about the size of a mid-size hard bound dictionary. This artifact wasn't given much attention at first given all the other, more interesting and apparently more valuable finds. And for about a hundred years since it's discovery, this lump was a bit of a mystery and was poorly understood. But little did they know they had found something truly sublime.
The Antikythera Mechanism is a sublime artifact that was discovered off the island of Antikythera in Greece, about 1900-1901, and was little understood for about a hundred years since it's discovery! Photo of the Antikythera Mechanism fragment A, from Wikipedia.
Sophisticated computer for solar cycles.
Only in the last decade has the Antikythera Mechanism been better understood. And this has been achieved through the use of modern technology like the "BladeRunner" system, equipment that weighs tons and is used for detecting minute cracks in turbines before they result to mechanical failure. The BladeRunner can analyze to the level of a tenth of a millimeter, and unlike previous devices, could provide x-rays in comprehensive three dimensional views. Using this system, the distinct gears and internal workings of the corroded and fused bronze mechanism has been unlocked, and even the ancient inscriptions on bronze, unread for more than two thousand years, were once again revealed.
A reconstruction. Photo from the Antikytyera Mechanism Research Project.
It is now established that the Antikythera Mechanism is a sophisticated analog computer for solar cycles, predicting events in the solar system like eclipses, the positions of the sun, moon, planets and stars at certain dates, etc. What is highly intriguing is that the Mechanism doesn't just deal with simple events over months or a few years, but it accounts for solar events with long cycles like 19-year cycles, 76-year cycles, 54-year cycles, with the accuracy of a modern app or computer algorithm.
The workmanship of the gears has been recognized to be exemplary, without errors and tweaks, indicating that this specimen wasn't the first attempt of the builder, but that earlier models must have been made where more experimentation and fine tuning was done. Another amazing fact is that by dating of the other artifacts including coins, the Antikythera Mechanism is believed to be from the 2nd century B.C., and it is known that mechanisms of similar complexity and workmanship have only resurfaced about 1500 years later, at the emergence of late medieval clockwork!
The Prague astronomical clock, or Prague orloj, is a medieval astronomical clock located in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. The clock was first installed in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronomical clock in the world and the oldest one still working. This astronomical clock is ante-dated by the Antikythera Mechanism by about 1500 years! Orloj photos from Wikipedia.
The Antikythera Mechanism is so fascinating that there are numerous research projects and international, joint, cooperative government and privately funded teams who have scrutinized this unique artifact See for example the Antikytyera Mechanism Research Project. A number of replicas of the Anikythera Mechanism have also been created. And much of the research data is available on the web for open research by interested parties.
For anyone thinking that the Antikythera Mechanism was made by aliens, or left by time travelers, those ideas were shot down by the Tech Stuff podcast. The key points are that the materials, the technology used and the information generated is consistent with what is believed available at the time the mechanism was built, albeit it projects these aspects to a surprisingly high degree.
The Antikythera Mechanism fascinates me for two reasons.
1. Because I have a personal attraction for (true) celestial bodies. That's also the reason why I've invested in my very own IWC Perpetual Calendar Double Moon, and why I gravitate towards models like the Lange and Patek annual calendars with moon phase. See my blogs on these watches for a fresh perspective.
2. This ancient artifact points to the genius of ancient man. Rather than mere apes and hominids that have acquired extra wit, ancient man showed a prowess for building from the early dawn of civilizations, and as more and more raw materials were processed and made widely available, greater and greater was the complexity of mans inventions. The creative genius of man from the very start is a reflection of the character of our Creator God, whether modern man (I.e. people today) wants to recognize it or not.
If you are intrigued by the genius displayed by ancient man, by "Ooparts" or Out-of-place artifacts, by the grand scale and deep insights of ancient architecture and how they permeate the globe - then check out this blog entry.
To close this blog entry - the popularity of this ancient artifact is highlighted by the extension of the Antikythera shipwreck exhibition in Athens, until January 2014. If you are favored to be visiting Athens while the exhibit is open, this should be on your list of Top Ten things to do or places to visit in Greece!
It's great to learn about new things!
I'll keep you posted on more interesting finds I come across.
Let me know if you've found something truly unusual that you want me to dig into.
Bye for now.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
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