Dan Snow's History Hit20 Aug 2023

The Ancient Greek Computer: The Antikythera Mechanism

In the recent Indiana Jones: The Dial of Destiny movie, the Antikythera Mechanism is used for time travel but in reality it was actually more of a celestial calculator- to track and predict astronomical phenomena. It was discovered by a group of Greek sponge divers in 1901 as they explored the site of an ancient shipwreck that dated back to the first century BCE. Among the wreckage on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, they found a complex arrangement of gears, wheels, and dials housed in a wooden case. It has astounded archaeologists, scientists and historians for years. It challenges our previous understanding of ancient technological capabilities and reveals the sophisticated level of scientific knowledge possessed by the ancient Greeks.

Dan is joined by Professor Tony Freeth, a man who understandings this astonishing object better than most- he is a founding member of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project and an Honorary Professor at University College, London. He believes that the Antikythera Mechanism, may be an iteration of something designed by the great Greek inventor Archimedes, decades earlier...

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