February 21, 2008

The 2000 year old computer

Its sounds like something out of a film, but this is in fact for real. Over a hundred years ago a diver off the coast of Greece discovered an old roman shipwreck, naturally he claimed most of the treasure that he could bring up, but when the wreck itself was raised an archaeologist discovered what looked liked a lump of rock, it turns out to be the device.

The item consisted of eighty gears, dials, clocks and wood and bronze casing which were inscribed with Greek symbols.

For over a hundred years this device has baffled scientists, but now the device has been reconstructed and its purpose has been made very clear. It turns out to be a highly sophisticated astronomical calendar which is capable of tracking the position of the sun and the phases of the moon with incredible accuracy.

Source [Guardian]