| The Breakroom > The Water Cooler |
| Anti Kythira |
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| PekkaNF:
That baghdad battery thing stinks. Probably it's completely something different than it's touted to be. Dave, You are familiar with "Automaton"? With few different spellings. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automaton OT: You know the silver swan? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Swan_%28automaton%29 That is 17-18th century frivial toy. What is pretty impressive is Mayan calendar and their astronomy. That has pretty strong circular idea behind. Therefore I think than in conceptual level current consensus about antikythera mechanism speculated meaning/use has it's credit. Not only in new world, but the consept of the speculated use and knowledge must have been around 100 BC enroute from Egypt to Rome. Wiki says: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism The construction has been dated to the early 1st century BCE. Technological artifacts approaching its complexity and workmanship did not appear again until the 14th century CE, when mechanical astronomical clocks began to be built in Western Europe.[7] http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr/ The ship, a Roman merchant ship of some 300 tons, had sunk on a well-used trade route from the Eastern to the Western Mediterranean. The wreck and its contents are consistent with a date of 80–50 BC. The famous Jacques Cousteau recovered Pergamese coins from about 86–67 BC, which with Ephesian coins of 70–60 BC reinforces a view that this had been a treasure ship on its way to Rome including booty from Pergamon (circa 84 BC) after the First Mithradatic War. A reasonable date for the wreck is thus 85–60 BC. The ship itself is thought to built, at least in part, from much older timber, 200±43 BC. Dating of the mechanism, I'm not that sure. If I have it right, dating is based on muck this mechanism was encased in. Therefore to my knowledge the mechanism itself is not dated very conclusively. Most likely simple explanation is the most correct one. I could easily accept that the current estimation is wrong. But how much? If you had to date it, which century you would feel comfortable with? Based on concept of the assumed use of the object? Materials? Manufacturing methods? Shape of the gear wheel tooth? Bearings? Pinions? Pekka |
| Pete.:
--- Quote from: PekkaNF on September 22, 2013, 06:24:58 AM --- If you had to date it, which century you would feel comfortable with? Based on concept of the assumed use of the object? Materials? Manufacturing methods? Shape of the gear wheel tooth? Bearings? Pinions? Pekka --- End quote --- I would trust the inscribed markings before anything else. The hand-shaped gears aren't much use if there is nothing to compare it with but the language would be common for all aspects of the age. I recall from the program that a couple of the inscriptions were particular to one region and time. |
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