Latest news with #Antikythera
The Sun
5 days ago
- Science
- The Sun
Mystery over 2,000-year-old shipwreck with ‘world's oldest computer' that inspired Indiana Jones as boat finally raised
THE mystery deepens around the famous shipwreck that held the 2,000-year-old relic dubbed the "world's first computer". The Antikythera wreck sank in the first century BC off the Greek island that gave it its name, carrying a trove of treasure. 7 7 7 Among the precious artefacts was the Antikythera Mechanism - an unusual device whose purpose long been debated and which even inspired "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny". But researchers studying the shipwreck are now facing a new mystery after part of the wreck was recovered for the first time since 1976. The newly recovered timbers do not match those found in the 1970s - they differ in both size and construction. This has led scientists to consider the possibility that the Antikythera site may actually contain the remains of two separate shipwrecks - not just one. Lorenz Baumer of the University of Geneva in Switzerland, who directed this year's expedition, said: 'The measures are different. 'The thickness of the planks found by Cousteau is around 10 centimetres, the ones we have measure around five - that's quite a difference. 'Now we have to find an explanation – is it another part of the ship? It's possible that they've been using thinner planks in upper parts, but that's pure speculation for now. 'Or is it – and for me this could be a possibility – a skiff. 'You see many of those merchant ships had smaller boats with them.' The Antikythera wreck was discovered in 1900 by Captain Dimitrios Kondos and his crew of sponge divers from the island of Symi. 7 Greek island offers to pay thousands to move there & you'll even get land Shortly after, over 300 other artefacts, including the Antikythera Mechanism, statues, coins and pieces of jewellery, were retrieved. For over a century, the mysterious device has left scientists scratching their heads. The conventional theory is that it was an ancient analogue device used to track the cycles of the Moon, Sun and planets and predict solar and lunar eclipses. Author Jo Marchant, who has written a book about the device, said it was 'probably the most exciting artefact that we have from the ancient world'. 7 A fictional version of the device, renamed the Archimedes Dial, drives the plot in Harrison Ford's hit film, where Indiana Jones is shown diving at the Antikythera wreck. Dr Baumer said: 'It's total nonsense, but I was very well entertained I have to say.' But the theory that the ship carrying the mechanism was accompanied by a second ship has historical precedent. A technical drawing of two vessels - one towing the other - was found in Pompeii, inside the House of the Ship Europa, Dr Baumer said. He said: 'It's very detailed and very precise, so this drawing has been done by somebody who knows ships and also the technical parts. 'You see on the back of the Europa is hanging a smaller second ship.' He also mentioned the Biblical tale - when Paul the Apostle was shipwrecked off Malta, a lifeboat was launched from the main vessel. 'We have two wreck sites,' he said. 'Close to 200 meters southwards there is a huge field – it is all covered with amphorae. 'Chronologically the two sites go together so maybe these ships have been sailing together.' He added: 'We cannot tell if they sank one after the other, or if there was a couple of years, weeks, or days between them. 'But we see we are in about the same period.' The newly-recovered timbers have also revealed that the Antikythera wreck was already old when it sank. Analysis of the wood, which is elm and oak, dates it back to around 235 BC, whereas the ship didn't sink until around 80 BC. This year's expedition also uncovered a fragment of a sculpture depicting a nude male. Some believe the ship was doomed by the weight of the sculptures it carried. Dr Baumer said: 'It sunk very, very quickly because it was, in my opinion, totally overloaded. 'Whenever there's a storm in Antikythera, you're happy that you're not on board a ship, even a modern one. 'It is a very rocky coast, it's impossible to land, and you simply get broken up. There's no chance. 'Even now when the waves are too heavy, the ferry boats do not land on Antikythera – it's too dangerous.' What is the Antikythera Mechanism? The Antikythera Mechanism is a 2,000-year-old Greek device, often called the world's first analogue computer. Discovered in a shipwreck in 1901, the object is thought to have been used to predict astronomical events, like eclipses, moon phases and possibly the movements of planets. It consists of at least 29 gears of various sizes that were made to move simultaneously via a handle. Key parts:
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Daily Mail
Powerful 5.3-magnitude earthquake rattles Greek holiday island with tourists 'leaping from sunloungers'
A powerful 5.3 magnitude earthquake rocked a Greek holiday hotspot today, with tourists left fearing for their lives. The huge quake took place at 4.26 pm local time on Wednesday, with the epicentre around 13 miles off the coast of Antikythera, Greece's Geodynamic Institute said. The tremble, which had a focal depth of 36 miles, was reportedly felt in some parts of the Greek holiday island of Crete, which is popular among British tourists. No casualties have been reported, but locals described how terrified tourists 'jumped out of their sun loungers and asked if this was normal and if there was a fear of a tsunami'. Others described how the tremor made items in their homes move and how they heard loud banging sounds as buildings swayed. One local said that 'it felt like the whole building moved slightly', while another described how they 'heard a rumble' as the 'house shook.' According to a 2.6 magnitude quake was detected at around 5.30am this morning, followed by a 2.2 magnitude tremor at 6.40am. The epicentre of all these tremors were located between Antikythera and Crete. A powerful 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck Greece today between the islands of Crete (pictured) and Antikythera Your browser does not support iframes. The Greek island of Antikythera lies just south of the Peloponnese peninsula and northwest of Crete and is a growing tourist destination thanks to its ancient Greek ruins and stunning beaches. Crete, meanwhile, is Greece's largest and one of its most famous islands, drawing in millions of holidaymakers every year. The earthquake off the coast of Greece comes a month after hundreds of firefighters battled raging wildfires off the island of Chios. Towering walls of flames tore through forest and agricultural land on the island, where authoritieS sent firefighting reinforcements from Athens, the northern city of Thessaloniki and the nearby island of Lesbos. Apocalyptic scenes captured in images and videos showed firefighters battling the flames as the wildfires raged on, while thick plumes of black smoke filled the sky. Other footage showed helicopters spraying water over smoke-filled fields. It also comes just five days after a powerful earthquake hit the Italian city of Naples and its surrounding region. Local residents reported hearing a 'roar' and feeling a 'strong tremor' as the 4.6 magnitude quake struck at around 9.15 am last Friday. The epicentre of the earthquake was just off the coast of the highly active Phlegraean Fields, a volcanic caldera west of the city, at a depth of 1.5 miles. Multiple people living nearby in the seaside town of Bagnoli said it 'seemed like a bomb' had gone off when the quake hit. It measured the same magnitude as an earthquake recorded in the region on March 13, the strongest to hit the region in 40 years. 'We rocked a lot... I'm still shaking,' one woman, living in the Vomero district of the city, told La Repubblica. Another local, who lives in the western Fuorigrotta suburb, described the experience as 'terrifying'. Rail traffic has been temporarily suspended in the city, which is home to more than 900,000 people. This is a breaking story, more to follow.
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Climate
- Daily Mail
Powerful 5.3 magnitude earthquake shakes Greece
A powerful 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck Greece today between the islands of Crete and Antikythera. The quake took place at 4.26 pm local time on Wednesday, with the epicentre around 13 miles off the coast of Antikythera, Greece's Geodynamic Institute said. The tremble, which had a focal depth of 36 miles, was reportedly felt in some parts of the Greek island of Crete, as well as in the Peloponnese and Attica. No casualties have been reported. It comes just five days after a powerful earthquake hit the Italian city of Naples and its surrounding region. Local residents reported hearing a 'roar' and feeling a 'strong tremor' as the 4.6 magnitude quake struck at around 9.15 am last Friday. The epicentre of the earthquake was just off the coast of the highly active Phlegraean Fields, a volcanic caldera west of the city, at a depth of 1.5 miles. Multiple people living nearby in the seaside town of Bagnoli said it 'seemed like a bomb' had gone off when the quake hit. It measured the same magnitude as an earthquake recorded in the region on March 13, the strongest to hit the region in 40 years. 'We rocked a lot... I'm still shaking,' one woman, living in the Vomero district of the city, told La Repubblica. Another local, who lives in the western Fuorigrotta suburb, described the experience as 'terrifying'. Rail traffic has been temporarily suspended in the city, which is home to more than 900,000 people. This is a breaking story, more to follow.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Mysterious Antikythera Mechanism May Actually Be a Toy, Study Says
Thought to be more than 2,000 years old, the Antikythera mechanism is widely considered the first computer in history, an analog calculator that was way ahead of its time… or was it? A new study suggests the device may simply have been an elaborate toy. Researchers from the National University of Mar del Plata in Argentina discovered that the configuration of the gears and teeth indicates the mechanism isn't functional. The Antikythera mechanism was thought to have been used by the ancient Greeks to calculate the movements of the Sun, Moon, and other planets, as well as eclipses. Only a fragment of it survived, but experts have been trying to imagine the rest of it since its discovery in a shipwreck in 1901. This latest study builds on previous work by Cardiff University astrophysicist Mike Edmunds, which looked at the shape of the mechanism's gear teeth and the manufacturing errors that may have been introduced as the mechanism was made. "Under our assumptions, the errors identified by Edmunds exceed the tolerable limits required to prevent failures," write the researchers. "Consequently, either the mechanism never functioned or its actual errors were smaller than those reported by Edmunds." What's new here is the way that calculations on both gear teeth and possible errors – including variations in the spacing of the teeth and evidence of variations in gear rotation – are combined together for a more comprehensive simulated model of the device. Whereas previously there had been some indications that the mechanism may not have been entirely accurate in its celestial mapping – perhaps as much due to the limited understanding of the cosmos as the mechanism itself – here the suggestion is that the device wouldn't really have functioned. "Our model revealed numerous instances of gear jamming and disengagement caused by both the random and systematic distribution of the teeth," write the researchers. There are plenty of caveats here, and the researchers themselves admit their work is "speculative" in parts. Only fragments of the mechanism remain, fragments that were battered and eroded underwater for many centuries, so there's a lot of educated guesswork going on. Nevertheless, it's enough to call into question whether the Antikythera mechanism was actually a work of genius or just an ornate decoration. Future studies will now be able to build on these findings. "This analysis suggests that we must be cautious in assuming that our measurements of the fragments perfectly reflect their original values," write the researchers. "Instead, it highlights the need for further research and the possible development of more refined techniques to better understand the true accuracy and functionality of the Antikythera mechanism." The research has yet to be peer-reviewed or published in a journal, but is available on the preprint server arXiv. 'Neuromyths' Distort Our Concept of The Human Brain, Study Finds Our Relationships With Indoor Plants Come in 4 Types, Study Finds Study of 616 Languages Identified Which Had Most Words For 'Snow'
