The Antikythera Mechanism, the ancient shoebox-sized device used to track the movements of Sunher Moon and the planets – followed the Greek lunar calendar, not the solar one used by the Egyptians as previously believed, new research reveals.
The Antikythera Mechanism, found by spongers on the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, was created about 2,200 years ago. The device, which contains copper gears, is sometimes listed as the oldest computer in the world.
A part of the mechanism known as the “calendar ring” was used to record the days of the year, with one hole per day. Although the ring has been known for some time, it is only partially preserved, so it is unclear how many days it should be tracked.
In 2020, a team led by independent researcher Chris Budiselic used new X-ray images of the device, combined with measurements and mathematical analysis, to determine that the mechanism likely did not span a full solar year, but rather 354 days, suggesting a lunar calendar. .
A team from the University of Glasgow used statistical techniques developed for the Laser Gravitational-Wave Interferometer Observatory to detect gravitational waves – ripples in space-time produced by the collisions of massive celestial objects such as black holes. These statistical methods are sensitive enough to detect weak signals from a potentially very noisy background.
Discovery
When the researchers trained the powerful statistical technique on the Antikythera Mechanism, they were able to use the locations of the known holes, as well as the likely way the fragments of the mechanism fit together, to infer the number and locations of the missing holes. They eventually determined that the mechanism likely had 354 or 355 holes. This meant that it likely followed the 354-day lunar calendar used in Greece at the time, rather than the 365-day calendar used by the ancient Egyptians.
“The Glasgow team’s results provide new evidence that one of the components of the Antikythera mechanism was likely used to track the Greek lunar year,” the researchers said in a university statement.
The team was impressed by the attention to detail from the device’s creators. “The accuracy of placing the holes would require very precise measuring techniques and an incredibly steady hand to drill them. It’s pure symmetry that we’ve adapted the techniques we use today to study the universe to understand more about a mechanism that helped people observe the heavens nearly two millennia ago.” it says Graham Goan, professor of astrophysics at the University of Glasgow, is one of the leaders of the research team.
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