World’s Oldest Marine Navigation Tool Was A Sophisticated Astrolabe

AncientPages.com - An astrolabe was not only a very a beautiful ancient object. It was also a sophisticated very old astronomical computer especially created for solving problems relating to time and the position of the Sun and stars in the sky.

It could be used as a navigation tool or to find out how the sky looked at a specific place at a given time.

Using scanning technology, researchers from the University of Warwick have now revealed details of the world’s oldest marine navigation tool, discovered in a shipwreck.

The astrolabe is a bronze disc, which measures 17.5cm in diameter, and is engraved with the Portuguese coat of arms and the personal emblem of Don Manuel I, the King of Portugal from 1495-1521.

Astrolabe -Image credit: Kotomi

It is believed to date from between 1495 and 1500, and was recovered from the wreck of a Portuguese explorer ship which sank during a storm in the Indian Ocean in 1503.

The boat was called the Esmeralda and was part of a fleet led by Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, the first person to sail directly from Europe to India.

Scan of the astrolabe artifact. Credit: University of Warwick

According to Professor Mark Williams,  who scanned the artifact, when the team found the object, no markings were visible. They believed it was an astrolabe, but they could not see any navigational markings on it.

They then approached Professor Williams, who conducts pioneering scanning analyses in his laboratory at WMG, to reveal the artifact's invisible details.

See also:

Astrolabe: A Beautiful, Mysterious And Sophisticated Computer Of The Ancient World

Magnetic Compass Was Invented In Ancient China

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The scans showed etches around the edge of the object, each separated by five degrees – proving that it is an astrolabe.

These markings would have allowed mariners to measure the height of the sun above the horizon at noon to determine their locationso they could find their way on the high seas.

The technology was able to accurately scan the item to within 0.1mm and reproduce a high-resolution 3-D model.

"It was fantastic to apply our 3-D scanning technology to such an exciting project and help with the identification of such a rare and fascinating item, Professor Williams said.

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