One of the most famous and most enigmatic of artifacts recovered from the ancient world is the Antikythera Mechanism, recovered from the remains of a ship that sank in Greek waters over 2,000 years ago. What was the purpose of this device, and how unique was it? Mathematician and Antikythera expert Tony Freeth sheds light on the subject.
Interview: ©2021 Professor Tony Freeth, University College London (UCL) Other material: Antikythera Archive & Animations ©201220 Images First Ltd.
Corrections and clarifications:
Dr. Freeth is an Honorary Professor at UCL, not "Honorary Research Associate."
While Dr. Freeth is speaking of xray scanning technology a video is shown of a different scanning technique known as PTM, which also was used on the mechanism.
Contents
00:00 Introduction
02:37 How it was discovered
05:52 When the ship went down
07:37 How Dr. Freeth became involved
11:57 New scanning technology used on the mechanism
16:54 How the mechanism was made
18:11 Who made the mechanism
21:02 How the purpose of the mechanism was determined
34:08 The location the mechanism was designed for
37:00 The purpose of the mechanism
42:47 How unique the mechanism was
45:34 Is the mechanism an "outofplace artifact"?
47:34 Is the mechanism geocentric or heliocentric?
49:37 Lesser known facts about the mechanism and the shipwreck
After viewing, come back to the notes here for further information.
►DOWNLOAD Professor Miano's free ebooklet: "Why Ancient History Matters":
https://mailchi.mp/a402112ea4db/whya...
►SUBSCRIBE to the World of Antiquity YouTube Channel for great travel videos about ancient ruins and ancient history museums.
► SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL
Supporters get access to behindthescenes videos, earlyrelease videos, course discounts and more! / worldofantiquity
FTC Disclaimer Notice: Some of the links here may be affiliate links, meaning that if you click on them and purchase something on another website, I get a small commission. It doesn't cost you any extra, but I thought you should know! It does help support the channel.
► REFERENCES
Tony Freeth's scientific articles on the mechanism:
https://www.nature.com/articles/natur...
https://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4159...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s4159...
UCL webpage on Antikythera Mechanism:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2021/mar/e...
Documentary "The Antikythera Cosmos":
• The Antikythera Cosmos
Documentary "The 2000 Year Old Computer":
• The 2000 Year Old Computer
Freeth: The Antikythera Mechanism: A Shocking Discovery from Ancient Greece:
• The Antikythera Mechanism: A Shocking...
Derek de Solla Price's articles on the mechanism:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/ar...
https://www.jstor.org/stable/1006146
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution website:
https://www.whoi.edu/knowyourocean/...
Spencer McDaniel article on the mechanism:
https://talesoftimesforgotten.com/201...
Antikythera Mechanism Research Project:
http://www.antikytheramechanism.gr/
Professor Miano's handy guide for learning, "How to Know Stuff," is available here:
https://www.amazon.com/HowKnowStuff...
Follow Professor Miano on social media:
►FACEBOOK: / drdavidmiano
►TWITTER: / drdavidmiano
►INSTAGRAM: / drmiano