Antikythera Mechanism, the oldest computer in the world, followed the Greek lunar calendar

The Antikythera Mechanism — an ancient shoebox-sized device that was used to track the movements of the sun, moon and planets — followed the Greek lunar calendar, not the solar one used by the Egyptians, as previously thought, new research reveals.

O Antikythera MechanismFound by sponge divers on the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, it was created about 2,200 years ago. The device, which contains bronze gears, is sometimes called the world’s oldest computer.

A part of the mechanism, known as the “calendar ring”, was used to track 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 was intended to track.

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 covered not a full solar year, but rather 354 days, as would be used in a lunar calendar.

On Thursday (June 27), another article in The Horological Journal found a similar result. A team at the University of Glasgow used statistical techniques developed for the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave 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.

When researchers trained the powerful statistical technique on the Antikythera mechanism, they were able to use the positioning of known holes, as well as the likely way fragments of the mechanism fit together, to deduce the number and location of the missing holes. Ultimately, they determined that the mechanism likely 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 Greece. ancient egyptians.

It was believed that he could have used the 365-day Egyptian solar calendar, as 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 likely used to track the Greek lunar year,” the researchers said in a statement. declaration from the university.

The team was impressed with the attention to detail of the device’s creators.

“The accuracy of positioning the holes would require highly precise measuring techniques and an incredibly steady hand to drill them,” said the study’s co-author. Graham Woana professor of astrophysics at the University of Glasgow, said in the statement. “It’s a perfect symmetry that we have adapted the techniques we use to study the universe today to understand more about a mechanism that helped people keep track of the heavens almost two millennia ago.”

André ThoeniThoeni, a co-author of the 2020 paper, praised the new research. “We are very happy that more scholars are now accepting and validating our findings,” Thoeni told Live Science in an email.

Diomidis Spinellis (in English)professor of software engineering at the Athens University of Economics and Business 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 analyzes continue to provide stunning insights into this remarkable artifact.”