High resolution imaging of 82 fragile bronze fragments from the Antikythera Mechanism has allowed scholars from the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project to identify previously illegible words and glyphs inscribed into the plates and dials of the 2,100 year old astronomical tool. The newly revealed inscriptions could possibly allow a more precise dating, and provide insight into the complexity of astronomical, ritual, and social information stored within it. A paper describing the latest results was published in the journal Nature on July 31, 2008.
The Antikythera Mechanism is a curious mass of corroded metal, thin flat round bronze plates and gears with triangular teeth, marked with Greek letters and symbols. It was discovered in 1900 by sponge divers off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera, within the remains of a shipwreck sunk ca. 50-80 BC. Investigations of the wreck by archaeologists Valerios Stäis and A. Oikonomu were the first large-scale underwater investigations ever attempted.
The wreck contained a wide variety of luxury goods including beautiful bronze statuary and amphorae, stored today at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. Many scholars attempted to analyze the mechanism in the early decades of the 20th century, including Albert Rehm and J. N. Sovronos, among others. But the Antikythera Machine remained an unopened puzzle for three-quarters of a century.
Sources
Antikythera Mechanism Research Project
Freeth, T., et al. 2006 Decoding the ancient Greek astronomical calculator known as the Antikythera Mechanism. Nature 444:587-591.
Freeth, Tony, Alexander Jones, John M. Steele, and Yanis Bitsakis 2008 Calendars with Olympiad display and eclipse prediction on the Antikythera Mechanism. Nature 454:614-617.
