There
are 82 remaining fragments of the mechanism that contain a total of 30
gears. The largest piece contains 27 of the gears. (Image copyright of
the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project).
More than a
hundred years ago an extraordinary mechanism was found by sponge divers
at the bottom of the sea near the island of Antikythera. It astonished
the whole international community of experts on the ancient world. Was it an astrolabe? Was it an orrery or an astronomical clock? Or something else?
For decades, scientific investigation failed to yield much light and
relied more on imagination than the facts. However research over the
last half century has begun to reveal its secrets. The machine dates
from around the end of the 2nd century B.C. and is the most
sophisticated mechanism known from the ancient world. Nothing as complex
is known for the next thousand years. The Antikythera Mechanism is now
understood to be dedicated to astronomical phenomena and operates as a
complex mechanical "computer" which tracks the cycles of the Solar
System.
Previous researchers have used the latest technologies
available to them -such as x-ray analysis- to try to begin to unravel
its complex mysteries. Now a new initiative is building on this previous
work, using the very latest techniques available today. The Antikythera
Mechanism Research Project is an international collaboration of
academic researchers, supported by some of the world's best
high-technology companies, which aims to completely reassess the
function and significance of the Antikythera Mechanism.
The project is under the aegis of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and
was initially supported by a grant from the Leverhulme Trust, UK. More
details bout subsequent funding are here. The project has received
strong backing from the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, which
is custodian of this unique artefact. Two of the Museum's senior staff,
Head of Chemistry, Eleni Magou, and Archaeologist-museologist,
One UK and two Greek universities are the core of the academic research
group -the astronomer Mike Edmunds and the mathematician and filmmaker
Tony Freeth (University of Cardiff), the astronomer John Seiradakis
(University of Thessalonica), the astronomer Xenophon Moussas and the
physicist and historian of science Yanis Bitsakis (University of
Athens). And last, but not least, the philologist and palaeographer
Agamemnon Tselikas (NBG Cultural Foundation).
During the first
data-gathering phase in the autumn of 2005, the most innovative
technologies were used to reveal unknown elements of the mechanism. This
research was carried out by two world-class high technology companies,
Hewlett Packard (US) and X-Tek Systems (UK). X-Tek's superb
three-dimensional x-rays were imaged using software from the leading
German company, Volume Graphics. Technical support was also provided by
the University of Keele (UK). The whole process was filmed by Tony
Freeth's Film and Television production company, Images First, for a
forthcoming TV documentary.
During September 2005, three
specialized scientists from Hewlett-Packard's Mobile and Media Systems
Laboratory came to Athens with their innovative digital imaging system
to examine the surface inscriptions and other features on the
Antikythera Mechanism. The HP team, Tom Malzbender, Dan Gelb and Bill
Ambrisco-brought with them a remarkable piece of specialist equipment: a
Dome that surrounds the sample under examination and takes a series of
still photos to analyze the three-dimensional structure of the surface.
This enables astonishingly detailed examination of fine details such as
faded and worn inscriptions. It has been a revelation for the research
team. See here for this data.
During October 2005, another team
of specialists from the cutting-edge company, X-Tek Systems, came to
Athens. Led by the company's pioneering proprietor, Roger Hadland, the
group of experts consisted of David Bate, Andrew Ramsey, Martin Allen,
Alan Crawley and Peter Hockley. Their aim was to use the very latest
x-ray technology to look at the internal structure of the mechanism with
its complex and confusing gear trains. With them they brought the
prototype of a very powerful new x-ray machine, the eight-tonne
"Bladerunner". Originally designed to search for minute cracks in
turbine blades, this machine gives astonishingly detailed
three-dimensional x-rays, using the latest "microfocus" x-ray
techniques. It has opened a remarkable window on microscopic internal
details of inscriptions and gearing at a resolution better than a tenth
of a millimeter. Inscriptions can now be read that have not been seen
for more than two thousand years and this is helping to build a
comprehensive picture of the functions of the Antikythera Mechanism.
Browse here some of the initial images from the Blade Runner.
This is work-in-progress and results are emerging on a stable basis as the data is analyzed:
- At the autumn of 2006, the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project has
organized a major conference in Athens to present their research
findings. These results opened a new chapter in the understanding of
this extraordinary mechanism. The conference coincided with the
publication of the first results at the journal "Nature".
- In July 2008, new results were published in Nature. These were focused on the functions of Back Dials of the Mechanism.
- In July-August 2009, a major symposium was organized within the scope
of the 23rd International Congress of History of Science and
Technology. Members and collaborators of the research project and
leading historians of science and technology discussed the position of
the Antikythera Mechanism within the history of science, technology and
ideas.
- A workshop took place in Athens (July 2011), in order
to discuss new data about the front plate inscriptions and planetary
data. Results should be processed and made public during 2012.
More info: The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project
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Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/
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