Tag Archive for 'Antikythera Mechanism'

A fragment of the Antikythera mechanism. Imager credit: National Archaeological Museum, Athens / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Astronomers Shed Light on Antikythera Mechanism’s Calendar Ring

Jul 10, 2024 by News Staff

The Antikythera mechanism is a multi-component device recovered from a shipwreck close to the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901. It is believed to be...

Computer model of the Antikythera Mechanism’s display: in the center, the dome of the Earth, the phase of the Moon and its position in the Zodiac -- then rings for Mercury, Venus, true Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Date, with ‘little sphere’ markers and smaller markers for oppositions. Scale marks and index letters for the synodic cycles of the planets are inscribed on the planet rings. Surrounding these, the Zodiac and the Egyptian Calendar. The true Sun ring has a ‘little golden sphere’ with ‘pointer.’ When the Moon and Sun pointers coincide, the Moon sphere shows black for New Moon; when the pointers are on opposite sides, the Moon sphere shows white for Full Moon. The Head of the Dragon Hand shows the ascending lunar node; the Tail the descending node. Small triangles on the true Sun ring, near the pointer, show wider and narrower eclipse limits. Eclipses are possible if the Dragon Hand is within these limits. When the Moon pointer is before the Head of the Dragon, the Moon is South of the node; after, it is North of the node -- conversely for the descending node. A Date pointer is attached to a narrow date ring, showing the date in the Egyptian Calendar. Image credit: Freeth et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-84310-w.

Scientists Step Closer to Understanding Full Capabilities of Antikythera Mechanism

Mar 15, 2021 by News Staff

A team of researchers from University College London and the Cyprus Institute’s Science and Technology in Archaeology and Culture Research Center has...

Underwater Archaeologists Find Ancient Human Skeleton in Antikythera Shipwreck

Sep 21, 2016 by News Staff

An international group of archaeologists led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and Sports has discovered...

Underwater Archaeologists Recover New Artifacts from Antikythera Shipwreck

Sep 28, 2015 by News Staff

Archaeologists excavating the famous 2,050-year-old Roman shipwreck off the remote island of Antikythera, Greece, have uncovered more than fifty new artifacts...

Archaeologists Find More Artifacts at Antikythera Shipwreck

Oct 12, 2014 by News Staff

During a 2014 expedition to the famed 2,050-year-old Roman shipwreck off the remote island of Antikythera in Greece, underwater archaeologists from the...