This may be the most impactful discovery in the Antikythera Mechanism research to date.
Among the massive ancient monuments, temples, even cities, archaeologists often discover unexpected mysterious ancient artifacts that go beyond our knowledge and understanding of the past. One such item is the Antikythera Mechanism which is often referred to as the world’s most ancient computer.
This absolute “technological” wonder of the ancient world was once used for astronomical purposes such as predicting astronomical events years or even decades in advance and following the movement of cosmic objects.
The Antikythera Mechanism has baffled experts for nearly 120 years now and although we have a general idea of its ancient purposes, many questions remain. I think we all know what those questions are and since we do not have a precise answer, let’s move on to some fresh discoveries.
A Discovery Contrary To What Is Known About The Antikythera Mechanism
This latest chapter in the research of the Antikythera Mechanism was conducted by a rather unexpected group of researchers through the creation of a complete replica of the original artifact and extensive mathematical calculations.
For decades, it has been thought that the outer calendar ring on the Antikythera Mechanism was a presentation of the Egyptian Civil Calendar which had 365 days.
The extensive research conducted by the small team in addition to the careful re-creation of the entire Antikythera Mechanism has led to the discovery that the calendar ring was not referring to a 365-day calendar but instead, to a 354-day lunar calendar.
• Budiselic, C., Thoeni, A. T., Dubno, M., & Ramsey, A. T. (2020). The Antikythera Mechanism Evidence of a Lunar Calendar Parts 1&2.
• Maloney, D. (2020, December 16). Hacker’s Discovery Changes Understanding Of The Antikythera Mechanism.
• Jones, A. (2020, April 08). The Antikythera Mechanism: The ancient Greek computer that mapped the stars.
• Marchant, J. (2015, February 01). Decoding the Antikythera Mechanism, the First Computer.
