2,000-Year-Old Antikythera Mechanism May Not Be What We Previously Thought

Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com - The Antikythera Mechanism, an intriguing ancient artifact discovered in 1901 among the remains of a shipwreck near the Greek island of Antikythera, has puzzled scientists for over a century. Initially believed to be the oldest known analog computer, it was thought to predict astronomical positions and eclipses decades ahead. However, recent research challenges this assumption.

Engineers Esteban Guillermo Szigety and Gustavo Francisco Arenas from Argentina’s National University of Mar del Plata have developed a computational model that re-evaluates the mechanism's functionality by examining its gearwork.

Fragments of the Antikythera mechanism. Credit: Joyofmuseums - CC BY-SA 4.0

"After spending twenty centuries underwater, the mechanism is incomplete and fragmented. However, the remaining pieces are sufficient to reconstruct its structure and main functions. The device featured several interlinked indicators, driven by a system of gears, which displayed the positions of the Moon and the Sun (and likely the planets) within the zodiac, the date according to the Egyptian calendar, and a Greek lunisolar calendar, as well as details of upcoming solar and lunar eclipses," the researcher write in their study.

The study highlights two primary sources of error: the triangular shape of the gear teeth, which causes irregular motion and inaccuracies in manufacturing, thereby affecting precision.

The mechanism featured interconnected indicators resembling clock hands that pointed to celestial positions, future eclipses, and calendar dates. The researchers simulated these features using previous data from Alan Thorndike and Mike Edmunds to understand how these errors might have influenced its operation. This new analysis provides fresh insights into this complex device's true capabilities and historical significance.

The researchers concluded that while the triangular shape of the teeth in isolation causes minimal errors, inaccuracies during manufacturing significantly increase the risk of gear jamming or disengagement. This suggests that manufacturing issues, as assessed by Edmunds, could have rendered the Antikythera Mechanism nearly unusable. They propose two scenarios: either the mechanism never worked, or its errors were less significant than those identified by Edmunds.

Furthermore, they note it is improbable that someone would deliberately construct a non-functional device. Therefore, they propose that Edmunds' findings may have been influenced by the artifact's severe corrosion. The researchers also caution that their own results should be viewed carefully due to the speculative nature of their study.

"Two possibilities arise: either the mechanism never functioned, or its errors were
smaller than those found by Edmunds. While it is conceivable—though unlikely—that someone
would go to the trouble of constructing such a complex yet non-functional device, there are
strong reasons to question whether Edmunds' values accurately represent the mechanism’s
original errors.

The effects of 2,000 years underwater likely caused corrosion that may have
deformed the gears, while the resolution of the computed tomography scans might not be
sufficient to precisely detect the tips or valleys of the teeth. Additionally, since many gears are
partially destroyed, Edmunds had to work with incomplete data. For these reasons, it is
reasonable to believe that the errors identified by Edmunds may be exaggerated compared to
the mechanism’s original state.

This analysis suggests that we must be cautious in assuming that our measurements of the
fragments perfectly reflect their original values. Instead, it highlights the need for further
research and the possible development of more refined techniques to better understand the
true accuracy and functionality of the Antikythera Mechanism," the researchers conclude in their study.

The study was published in the journal Arxiv

Written by Jan Bartek - AncientPages.com Staff Writer