THE ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM 1. Challenging the Classic Research

Abstract

The Antikythera Mechanism is an extraordinary 2,000 year-old astronomical calculator, which was recovered 100 years ago by Greek sponge divers. Its true significance was not recognised until the research of Derek de Solla Price from the mid-1950s, which culminated in the classic Gears from the Greeks(Price 1974). Price undertook a detailed scientific examination,including x-rays, which showed that it was a complex mechanism with at least thirty gears. He also produced a model of the mechanism, which incorporated a differential-apparently far ahead of its time. This paper challenges some of the key conclusions of this classic research as well as a later revision of Price's model by Allan Bron ley. New investigations, using the latest technologies are advocated in order to settle the many outstanding questions.