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What was the Antikythera mechanism designed to do?
The Antikythera mechanism — a bronze geared device recovered from a Roman shipwreck in 1900-1901 — was a hand-cranked analog computer for astronomy. Its 37 gears modelled the lunar orbit, predicted solar and lunar eclipses, tracked planetary positions, and included a 4-year Olympiad counter. It is roughly 1,500 years more sophisticated than the next known geared mechanism.
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The Greek Computer at the Bottom of the Sea Sponge divers found a corroded lump of bronze in 1901. It took a hundred and twenty years to admit what it actually was.
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