The Ancient Device That Stumped Scientists for a Century

In the spring of 1900, a violent storm in the mediterranean sea forced a fishing boat to take shelter on the tiny island of Antikythera (an-tee-KITH-er-a), off the coast of Greece. After the storm passed, the ship’s captain sent a young diver out to explore the local waters. A few minutes later, the diver returned in a panic. He claimed he’d seen a pile of dead bodies on the seafloor! So the captain put on a diving suit and went to see for himself. He came back to the surface carrying a human arm—made of bronze! The crew had stumbled upon the remains of an ancient shipwreck.

A year later, the crew returned to explore the remains of the ship with the help of the Greek Navy. The sunken vessel turned out to be a 2,000-year-old cargo ship—and it was full of ancient treasures. Divers brought up bronze and marble sculptures, glassware, pots, jewelry, and coins. They also found a strange, unidentifiable artifact, or humanmade object of historical interest. It was a crusted, greenish lump about the size of a shoebox.

The lump was taken, along with the rest of the contents of the wreck, to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. For months, it sat in storage unnoticed. Little did anyone know, this strange object would eventually come to be known as one of the greatest archaeological mysteries of all time.

In the spring of 1900, a fishing boat was caught in a violent storm in the Mediterranean Sea. The boat took shelter on the tiny island of Antikythera (an-tee-KITH-er-a), off the coast of Greece. After the storm, the ship’s captain sent a young diver to explore the local waters. A few minutes later, the diver returned in a panic. He claimed that a pile of dead bodies lay on the seafloor! So the captain put on a diving suit. He went to see for himself. He came back to the surface with a human arm—made of bronze! The crew had found an ancient shipwreck.

A year later, the crew returned. They explored the remains of the ship with help from the Greek Navy. The sunken ship turned out to be a 2,000-year-old cargo ship. It was full of ancient treasures. Divers brought up bronze and marble sculptures, glassware, pots, jewelry, and coins. They also found a strange, unknown artifact, or human-made object from the past. The crusted, greenish lump was about the size of a shoebox.

The lump and the rest of the wreck’s contents were taken to the National Archaeological Museum of Athens. For months, the lump sat in storage unnoticed. No one knew it yet, but this strange object was special. It would become one of the greatest archaeological mysteries of all time.

In 1902, a government official named Spirydon Stais came across the unidentified artifact again. In the year since its recovery, it had broken into several smaller pieces. Stais noticed something strange sticking out of the fragments: gears. They were complex, with neat triangular teeth like the inside of a clock. Stais realized that the seemingly insignificant lump was actually the degraded remnants of an elaborate bronze device—an object now called the Antikythera mechanism.

“When they discovered these complex gears, it was utterly shocking,” says Tony Freeth, a mathematician, filmmaker, and member of the Antikythera Research Team at University College London. The artifact dated back to sometime between 200 and 60 B.C.—yet it contained technology that wasn’t thought to exist for another 1,400 years. For context, that’s like finding an Xbox in the ruins of a medieval castle! “Prior to the mechanism’s discovery, we knew of gears in the ancient world, like for windmills and water mills—simple mechanical gears,” says Freeth. “But the gears in this mechanism are tiny, with teeth about a millimeter long.”

The fragments were examined and cleaned. After spending 2,000 years beneath the sea, they were battered, degraded, and extremely delicate. Some pieces were covered in faint inscriptions, further baffling archaeologists. “People got very excited about figuring out what it was,” says Freeth. “And they mostly got it wrong.” Some people thought it was a navigation device. Others argued that it was too advanced to be from ancient Greece—it must have been dropped into the sea during the Middle Ages (500-1500 A.D.).

Around 1905, German researcher Albert Rehm came closest to figuring out the device’s purpose. He believed it was some sort of astronomical calculator used to simulate the motion of the sun, moon, and planets. But the technology available at the time wasn’t advanced enough to confirm his theory.

In 1902, a government official came across the unknown artifact again. It had broken into several smaller pieces in the year since its recovery. The official, named Spirydon Stais, noticed something strange. Gears stuck out of the fragments. They were complex, with neat triangular teeth. They looked like the gears inside a clock. Stais realized this was no ordinary object. It was the degraded remains of an elaborate bronze device. It is now called the Antikythera mechanism. 

“When they discovered these complex gears, it was utterly shocking,” says Tony Freeth. He’s a mathematician, filmmaker, and member of the Antikythera Research Team at University College London. The artifact dated back to sometime between 200 and 60 B.C. But it contained technology that no one thought existed for another 1,400 years. That would be like finding an Xbox in the ruins of a medieval castle! “Prior to the mechanism’s discovery, we knew of gears in the ancient world, like for windmills and water mills—simple mechanical gears,” says Freeth. “But the gears in this mechanism are tiny, with teeth about a millimeter long.” 

The fragments were examined and cleaned. They had spent 2,000 years beneath the sea. So they were battered, degraded, and extremely delicate. Some pieces were covered in faint writing. That baffled archaeologists even more. “People got very excited about figuring out what it was,” says Freeth. “And they mostly got it wrong.” Some people thought it was a navigation device. Others argued that it was too advanced to be from ancient Greece. They thought it was dropped into the sea during the Middle Ages (500-1500 A.D.).

Around 1905, German researcher Albert Rehm examined the device. He came closest to figuring out its purpose. He believed it was some sort of astronomical calculator. It might show the motion of the sun, moon, and planets. But the technology of his time wasn’t advanced enough to confirm his idea.