The world's oldest computer
For decades, researchers have been baffled by the intricate bronze
mechanism of wheels and dials created 80 years before the birth of Christ.
The "Antikythera Mechanism" was discovered damaged and fragmented on
the wreck of a cargo ship off the tiny Greek island of Antikythera in
1900.
Now, a joint British-Greek research team has found a hidden ancient
Greek inscription on the device, which it thinks could unlock the mystery.
The team believes the Antikythera Mechanism may be the world's oldest
computer, used by the Greeks to predict the motion of the planets. The
researchers say the device indicates a technical sophistication that
would not be replicated for millennia and may also be based on principles
of a heliocentric, or sun-centred, universe - a view of the cosmos that
was not accepted by astronomers until the Renaissance.
What was it for?
 The
Greek and British scientists used three-dimensional X-ray technology
to make visible inscriptions that have gone unseen for 2,000 years.
Mike Edmunds, an astrophysicist at Cardiff University, who is heading
the British team, said: "The real question is, 'What was the device
actually for?' Was it a used to predict calendars? Was it simply a teaching
tool? The new text we have discovered should help answer these questions".
The mechanism contains over 30 bronze wheels and dials and was probably
operated by hand, Mr Edmunds said. The most prominent appraisal of the
mechanism's purpose was put forward in 2002 by Michael Wright, the curator
of mechanical engineering at the Science Museum in London, who said
it was used to track the movements of all the celestial bodies known
to the Greeks: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Mr Wright's
theory is that the device was created in an academy founded by the Stoic
philosopher Poseidonios on the Greek island of Rhodes.
 The
writings of the 1st-century BC orator and philosopher Cicero - himself
a former student of Poseidonios - cite a device with similarities to
the mechanism. Xenophon Moussas, a researcher at Athens University,
said the newly discovered text seems to confirm that the mechanism was
used to track planetary bodies. The researchers are looking at whether
the device placed the sun, not the earth, at the centre of the solar
system.
He said: "It is a puzzle concerning astronomical and mathematical
knowledge in antiquity. The mechanism could rewrite certain chapters
in this area." Yanis Bitsakis, also of Athens University, added: "The
challenge is to place this device into a scientific context, as it comes
almost out of nowhere ... and flies in the face of established theory
that considers the ancient Greeks were lacking in applied technical
knowledge." Mr Edmunds said the researchers were prepared for an onslaught
of conspiracy theories. "There's no indication that the device is anything
we wouldn't expect of the Greeks or something that would require an
extra-terrestrial explanation. "I think it is a great testament to the
sophistication of the Greeks and how far they advanced before the jackboot
of the Romans came through."
A timeshift in the history of astronomy
If the Antikythera Mechanism turns out to have been a machine for
showing the movements of the planets around the sun, it would greatly
alter our understanding of the history of astronomy. Although at least
one Greek thinker posited a heliocentric view of the solar system, the
dominant view at the time was Aristotle's - that the Earth was the centre
of the universe and that everything rotated around it in perfect, circular
orbits.
It was not until 1,400 years later that Copernicus and Galileo conclusively
proved the heliocentric view, which greatly altered man's understanding
of his importance and position in the universe. Their work was met with
stern resistance, as the Church believed the Aristotlean view - which
put humanity at the centre of the cosmos - was integral to man's direct
relation to God. Researchers are now searching for clues that the Antikythera
Mechanism might have been governed by heliocentric principles. If they
are successful, it would suggest the heliocentric world-view was more
accepted by the Greeks than thought.
Congress in Athens
The new findings are to be discussed at an international congress
scheduled to be held in Athens in November.
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