The Antikythera Mechanism – an ancient shoebox-sized device used to track the movements of the sun, moon and planets – followed the Greek lunar calendar, not the solar calendar used by the Egyptians as previously thought, new research reveals.
The Antikythera Mechanismfound by sponge divers off the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, was made about 2,200 years ago. The device, which contains bronze gears, is sometimes called the world’s oldest computer.
Part of the mechanism, known as the “calendar ring”, was used to keep track of the days of the year, with one hole per day. Although the ring has been known for some time, it has only been partially preserved, so it is unclear how many days it was intended to keep track of.
In 2020, a team led by independent researcher Chris Budiselic used new X-ray images of the device, combined with measurements and mathematical analyses, to determine that the mechanism likely did not span a full solar calendar year, but rather 354 days, as used in a lunar calendar.
On Thursday (June 27), another article in The Horological Journal found a similar result. A team from the University of Glasgow used statistical techniques developed for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory to detect gravitational waves — ripples in space-time caused by collisions of massive celestial bodies such as black holes. These statistical methods are sensitive enough to detect the weak signals from a potentially very noisy background.
When the researchers trained the powerful statistical technique on the Antikythera Mechanism, they were able to use the positioning of the known holes, as well as the likely way the mechanism’s fragments fit together, to infer the number and placement of the lost holes. to lead. They eventually determined that the mechanism probably had 354 or 355 holes. This meant that it probably followed the 354-day lunar calendar used in Greece at the time, rather than the 365-day calendar used by the ancient Egyptians.
It was thought to use the 365-day Egyptian solar calendar because it is more accurate than the 354-day lunar calendar.
“The Glasgow team’s results provide new evidence that one of the components of the Antikythera Mechanism was most likely used to track the Greek lunar year,” the researchers said in a rack from the university.
The team was impressed by the attention to detail that the device’s creators had paid.
“The precision of the hole placement would require very precise measuring methods and an incredibly steady hand to punch them,” said study co-author Graham Woana professor of astrophysics at the University of Glasgow said in the statement. “It is a beautiful symmetry that we have adapted techniques that we use to study the universe today to understand more about a mechanism that helped people watch the heavens almost two millennia ago.”
Andreas Thoenia co-author of the 2020 paper, praised the new research. “We are very happy that more scientists are now accepting and validating our findings,” Thoeni told Live Science in an email.
Diomidis Spinellisa professor of software engineering at the University of Economics and Business of Athens, who researched the mechanism but was not involved in either paper, was also impressed by the new work.
“The Antikythera Mechanism is a gift that keeps on giving,” Spinellis told Live Science in an email. “Despite severe corrosion and many missing elements, the application of increasingly sophisticated technologies and innovative interdisciplinary analyses continues to provide impressive insights into this remarkable artifact.”