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Scientists from the Antikythera research team at University College London presented “a radical new model [for the ancient Greek astronomical calculator, the Antikythera Mechanism] which matches all the data and results in a stylish display of the ancient Greek cosmos, “according to a study published in Friday. Nature.
As new experimental techniques emerged, research teams were able to explain the purpose and dynamics of the back side of the Antikythera Mechanism, which includes an eclipse prediction system. In particular, the use of high-resolution surface imaging and X-ray tomography on the artifact, described in a 2006 study also led by Freeth, revealed dozens of never-before-seen inscriptions that usefully constitute a guide to using the mechanism.
Now Freeth and his colleagues believe they have addressed the missing piece of the puzzle: the complicated cogs underlying the calculator’s front “Cosmos” display. Virtually nothing of that front section has survived, and “no previous reconstructions have come close to matching the data” that exist, according to the study.
The new document “synthesized the work of other people, and dealt with all the awkward ends and nuances that other people simply ignored,” Wojcik said. “For example, there are certain characteristics in the surviving pieces – holes and pillars and things like that – that people said, ‘Well, we’re just going to ignore that in our explanation. There must be some use for it, but we don’t “I don’t know what it is, so we’re just going to ignore it.”
Find out more here.
Watch a 30-minute video on the history of the mechanism and the latest research and articles from the UCL Antikythera research team.
Image: Computer model of the Cosmos screen based on the research team’s document
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