Mystery · Ancient Technology
A Calculator for the Heavens
The Antikythera Mechanism
The question
Divers pulled this corroded bronze lump from a shipwreck in 1901. What was it?
- A ship's navigation compass
- An astronomical calculator(correct answer)
- The lock of a treasure chest
The answer: An astronomical calculator
The Antikythera Mechanism is a hand-powered bronze device built from interlocking gears, about 30 of which survive. Turning it predicted the positions of the Sun, Moon and planets, the phases of the Moon, and lunar and solar eclipses. Greek sponge divers recovered it in 1901 from a Roman-era shipwreck near Antikythera. Only about a third survives, in 82 fragments.
- Civilization
- Ancient Greece
- Region
- Southern Europe
- Period
- Hellenistic period, about 2,000 years ago
- Location
- Found off the island of Antikythera, Greece; now in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens
- Featured in
- Daily Discovery #004 · 5 November 2026
Image: Logg Tandy, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image source, opens in a new tab)
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