Figure Caption: a, Representative CT slice of fragment B, showing part of the Metonic dial. The scales are 7 mm wide and the text 1.7 mm high (Supplementary Notes 3). b, Text in red was traced from the CT—just enough being deciphered to discover all the month names; text in blue is reconstructed. c, CT slice through fragment B, showing the Olympiad dial. LΔ and ΝΕΜΕΑ can be seen faintly on the left-hand side. d, The four sectors of the Olympiad dial are labeled LΑ, LΒ, LΓ and LΔ—years 1, 2, 3 and 4. Outside are the Panhellenic Games: year 1: ΙΣΘΜΙΑ, ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑ; year 2: ΝΕΜΕΑ, ΝΑΑ; year 3: ΙΣΘΜΙΑ, ΠΥΘΙΑ; and year 4: ΝΕΜΕΑ, and undeciphered text.
The new images allowed the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project (AMRP) team to identify several new functions, and reassess their own and other earlier interpretations.
The functions of the Antikythera Mechanism now recognized by the AMRP include:
- Parapegma, or star almanac, which describes the risings and settings of prominent stars and the Zodiac signs in the annual cycle.
- Metonic Calendric Cycle, used as a 19-year luni-solar calendar
- An Egyptian calendar, with a movable calendar scale to accommodate leap years
- An Olympiad calendar, which tracked the timing and location of the Olympic games.
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.
