https://bigthink.com/surprising-science/antikythera-mechanism

Ancient computer found in shipwreck decoded by scientists
A new model of the Antikythera mechanism reveals a “creation of genius.”
KRISTIN HOUSER
28 March, 2021

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Today, if you want to know when the next solar eclipse is going to be, you turn to Google. If you lived in ancient Greece, though, you might have used a device now known as the Antikythera mechanism.

Considered the world’s first analog computer, this marvel of ancient engineering used dozens of bronze gears to predict the positions of the Moon, Sun, and five planets, as well as the timing of solar and lunar eclipses.

Divers discovered the Antikythera mechanism while exploring a Roman-era shipwreck in 1901, but the ancient computer was in far from pristine condition—only about a third of it had survived the 2,000 years underwater.

Researchers have been trying to understand how the Antikythera mechanism worked ever since—and now, a team from University College London (UCL) may have finally cracked its code.

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“The classic astronomy of the first millennium BC originated in Babylon,” researcher Aris Dacanalis said, “but nothing in this astronomy suggested how the ancient Greeks found the highly accurate 462-year cycle for Venus and 442-year cycle for Saturn.”

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What we think of “history” is really just a jumble of maybes.

The further back we go in time — don’t forget those 300 years that may not exist — the less we “know” about these people.

Look at Oak Island, and that is another “wake up call”.

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