The secret of "Machine of Antiquitila Island" which is said to be the world's oldest analog computer revealed

A bronze gear type tool discovered from an ancient sinking ship "Machine of Antiquitira Island"Was a mystery encompassing many years such as the age, place, usage, etc. that were made long after discovery. However, as a result of X-ray analysis, it was found that more than 3,500 letters were written on the surface of the tool, and it was found that ancient Greeks used it for astronomical observation and to know the timing of the Olympics.

The world's oldest computer is still revealing its secrets - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/06/14/the-worlds-oldest-computer-is-still-revealing-its-secrets/

The machine of Antikitira Island was discovered in 1901 from the sinking ship of the Aegean Sea. Today it is housed in the Athens National Archaeological Museum, along with luxurious bronze sculptures found from the same sunken ship, as well as relics such as jewels and antique coins. Characters marked on the surface of Antikitira's machine are hard to read and the gears are calcified by corroding, so they do not draw much attention compared to other relics but after more than a century scientists I am fascinated.


Antiquitila Island, where a sinking ship was found, is an island that floats in the Aegean Sea and is located in the northwestern part of Crete.


"Machine of Antiqueilla Island" has been thought to be a simple design like astronomical observation cigaret for about 50 years since the discovery, "Greeks made very elaborate and accurate machines, 1400 It has disappeared from the front stage of history for years "and no one thought that. After that, Derek de Solla Price of a physicist / science historian belonging to Yale University visited the Athenian National Archaeological Museum and observed the machine of Antikitira Island, "The machine of Antikitira is a celestial movement It is the machine that shows the operation of the universe by calculating the world's oldest computer "in 1959Announcement. Over the next 25 years, Mr. Price worked on elucidating the mechanism of how the machine of Antiqueilla Island moves.

"There is no such machine left anywhere else in the world," said Price, who looked at ancient scientific research, there is nothing else comparable to that of Antiquitila's machine " And I write down. However, in fact Roman philosopher Cicero in the 1st century BC, RodosPoseidoniusI write a document about tools made in the 1st century BC. The tool of Poseidonius was reproduced day and night movement of the sun, moon, and five planets by rotating it. However, it is a fact that modern scientists have changed their mind about ancient Greek techniques, due to the discovery of Antikitira's machines, and Price says Price "immediately before ancient Greek civilization is lost, modern technology It seems that it has developed to a point very close to ".

Machine of Antiquitira Island was broken or corroded many of the parts inside, the characters inscribed on the surface faded, the parts overlapped and the characters were crushed.


With the development of X-ray analysis and image analysis technology, it became possible to distinguish the characters written on the surface, so in 2005 a research project by archaeologists, astronomers and historians around the world "The Antikythera Mechanism Research Project"(AMRP) was launched.


As historian Alexander Jones, a historian studying ancient science at New York University participating in the project, was proficient in ancient Greek language, he was involved in deciphering characters found from image analysis, with a long sentence of over 3,500 words I figured out what was being taken. Although the characters written on the surface were thought to be explanations of how to use the machine at the beginning of discovery, in fact it was understood that more abstract sentences were written.


Character of the machine surface revealed by X-ray analysis.


Mr. Jones says, "The machinery of Antiqueilla Island is very small, broken and corroded, but you can learn about ancient technologies, science and time knowledge." According to Mr. Jones, Antiquitira's machine is the most informative excavator among the ancient relics.

Based on the research results, it is speculated that the machine of Antiqueilla Island was made about 2100 years ago. The structure is very complicated, and it is said that elaborate parts including spinning parts and at least 30 bronze gears are used. There are thousands of teeth in the gear, and the following photograph shows that the white gear is left in the center part.


There are circular parts with graduations carved, and it is seen as showing time movement and celestial movement with amazing precision. We calculate the number of days with at least three kinds of calendars and there are graduations for calculating the time of the Olympic Games.


AMRP scans parts of Antikitira's machine ... ...


Create 3D model.


In addition to the main gear, a number of small gears and parts are used.


The complete body looks like this.


There was a scale on the front of the machine, and marks representing stars and planets were written based on the position of the earth. A small ball imitating the moon revolved around the elongated axis and painted with black and white to indicate the phases of the moon. There is a handle on the side for moving the machine.


The back side of the machine. The machine of Antiquitira is the most elaborate of the relics of ancient Greece and machines with similar sophistication did not show up until a gear-type clock appeared in Europe in the 14th century .


The internal structure is as follows.


From the text engraved on the machine, a description about the unique calendar of Corinth in the city of northern Ancient Greece, a description about a small sphere attached to the surface of the machine, the schedule of the competition held in the city of Rhodos A description about the things such as is also found. From the sunken ship it is seen that pottery which was seen to have been made with Rhodos was also found, so it is seen that "Machine of Antiquitila Island was made of Rhodos". Also, Mr. Jones said "From the handwriting of machinery making and the handwriting written on the surface, the machine is made by several people at a small factory in ancient Greece, similar to the machines of Antiqueilla Island I guess that I was making tools like that. "


The dial for predicting the sun and the moon's meal with the machine of Antiquitila Island can predict the color of the moon at the time of eating and the weather of the day. Jones says, "Research on Antikitira's machines will help us to better understand the origin and purpose of human beings using tools."