Antikythera Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism is a mechanical device of ancient Greek origin that has been used by pseudoarchaeologists as "proof" of their beliefs about ancient aliens.

Fragments of the Antikythera Mechanism on display at the Archaeological Museum in Athens.

Discovery

In the year 1900, sponge divers discovered an ancient shipwreck off the coast of Antikythera, a small Greek island in the Aegean Sea. Subsequently, the wreck was partially salvaged by the sponge divers under the supervision of Antonios Oikonomos, professor of archaeology at the University of Athens. However, factors including adverse weather conditions and the divers’ lack of training prevented the operation from being conducted in an “archaeologically scientific” manner. The ship is now believed to have been a merchant vessel that sank around 60 BC on its way to the western Mediterranean. The artifacts recovered from the wreck included bronze statues, some from the 3rd and 4th centuries BC; the most notable is the “Ephebe of Antikythera.” There were also marble statues, amphorae, ceramics, glassware, and coins. Though it is by far the most famous of the artifacts today, at the time little attention was paid to what would come to be known as the Antikythera Mechanism.

The Mechanism

The Antikythera Mechanism is in a fragmentary state- approximately 82 fragments in all, though some may or may not be part of the Mechanism. Originally it was in a wooden frame (now mostly disintegrated) and is estimated to have been about 315 x 190 x 100 mm (approx. 12 x 7.5 x 4 inches).

The back dials are as follows:

• The Metonic dial, labeled with lunar months in a 19-year cycle
• The Callippic dial, labeled with 19-year cycles within a 76-year cycle
• The Saros dial, labeled with the dates of potential lunar or solar eclipses
• The Exeligmos dial, labeled with extra hours to be added to a cycle of 223 lunar months
• The Games Dial, labeled with the cycle of the Olympic Games and other sporting events

The front had only one dial, which was labeled with the 12 zodiac signs as well as the months of the Egyptian calendar. It also had small markings dividing the circumference into 365 equal sections. This dial had multiple pointers to represent the Sun, moon, and planets.

Pseudoarchaeological Claims

Ancient alien theorists have cited the Antikythera Mechanism as an example of an artifact they believe is too advanced for ancient humans to have built without help from extraterrestrials. In Chariots of the Gods, Erich von Daniken includes the Mechanism in a long list of artifacts that he believes archaeologists cannot explain. The Mechanism is also featured in season 3, episode 8 of Ancient Aliens, “Mysterious Devices,” which also posits that the Great Pyramid of Giza was actually an ancient power plant. Author and self-described “rogue archaeologist” David Childress (who has no real archaeological credentials) says that the Antikythera Mechanism is so unbelievably advanced that its discovery was like “finding a jet engine in the tomb of King Tut.” Alien hunter Jason Martell claims that “it had more complicated inner workings than a modern-day Swiss watch” and that no one knows “who could have created it and what it was used for.”

Analysis

It is true that even legitimate scholars have described the Antikythera Mechanism as being remarkable. In fact, David Childress was merely echoing the words of Derek de Solla Price, the first scholar to write a book about the Mechanism, who said that its discovery was “like opening a pyramid and finding an atomic bomb.” However, there is no reason to believe that aliens were involved in the construction of the Mechanism. As de Solla Price wrote, "the whole story of Greek science makes a great deal more sense if we assume that the old view of their rising no higher than the simple Heronic devices was a drastic underestimation that can now be corrected."

In fact, it in many ways reflects the technological limitations of the civilization from which it arose. For instance, the Mechanism’s gears all have triangular teeth, which are less efficient than modern gear teeth and consistent with other early mechanical devices. Also, it is likely that there are other examples of this kind of technology that have not survived from antiquity. The Antikythera Mechanism is sophisticated enough to imply that other prototype devices must have come before it. Since metal was valuable, it was often recycled.