World's first computer found at wreck
In 1900, sponge divers from the Greek island of Symi
anchored along the eastern coastline of the island while waiting for a
ferocious storm to pass. What they would stumble upon would stun the
world.
Underneath the
crystalline waters, lay the incredible wreck undiscovered for thousands
of years. And as the site was explored over the next year, they would
uncover life-size bronze statues and remarkable artifacts. But it was
the 1902 recovery of a clump of calcified stone with mysterious
inscriptions that would push the wreck into archaeological lore.
The heavily corroded
bronze fragments would turn out to be what has been described as the
world's earliest known "computer," designed in the first century BC --
the Antikythera Mechanism. Built to track the astronomical calendar and
lunar movements, later radiographic image analysis of the mechanism
revealed 30 intricate gear wheels.
"We hate to speak of treasure but in this case, it's actually a treasure ship and there are just no two ways about it.
Brendan Foley, archaeologist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
Brendan Foley, archaeologist from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
Famed underwater explorer
Jacques Cousteau visited the site in 1976 to film a documentary and
returned from below the surface with treasures galore. Since then, the
site had remained dormant under the aegis of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture for almost 40 years.
"The Antikythera
shipwreck is maybe the most important, most famous shipwreck from
antiquity," Brendan Foley, an archaeologist from WHOI and co-director of
the expedition told CNN before the dive began in September. "We are
hardcore scientists and archaeologists. We hate to speak of treasure but
in this case, it's actually a treasure ship and there are just no two
ways about it."
(continue here:cnn)
