Beginning in 2005, the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project (AMRP), led by astronomer Mike Edmunds, focused on gaining improved images of the fragments. Using a combination of new x-rays, digital photography and computed tomography, the AMRP established a research database of images that will eventually be made available to the public.
The AMRP have been able to read words and glyphs on the dials and plates, and on the basis of the translation of these have identified a new set of purposes of the machine. Based on the detailed form of the Greek lettering which appears on the plates, the AMRP has proposed a new date for the construction of the Antikythera Mechanism as ca 100-150 BC. This date is slightly older than but perfectly consistent with the date of the shipwreck in which the mechanism was found (ca 50-80 BC).
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.
