Thread by @TheOnionGod

1/ Let's talk about underwater archeology today, a story that starts with an accidental discovery by Greek divers in the Mediterranean, a #thread about the discovery of the ship from Antikthara in 1900, at a depth of 40 meters below sea level. >>

* Location of the shipwreck.

2/ >> The underwater excavations began in 1976, led by Jacques Cousteau, but not all finds were retrieved. The shipwreck site also suffered unintentional damage by the divers who thought some of the sculptures were stones & moved them. >>

* The ship that discovered the wreck.

3/ >> The ship was dated, based on the the sculptures and pottery vessels found in it, to the 4th-1st c. BC, from the Hellenistic to the early Roman period. On the ship were items that were ancient at the time of its sinking, dating to 300 years before it sank. >>

4/ >> Many marble & bronze sculptures were found on the ship, on the marble sculptures seaweed accumulation is visible. Everyday pottery vessels were also found, including amphorae, the most common trade vessel in Hellenistic & Roman times. >>

* Some of the items from the ship.

5/ >> The important find from the ship is the "Antikthara mechanism". The item is a bronze mechanism that maybe had a wooden box cover. The mechanism was found as one piece in the beginning, & was then carefully disassembled in the laboratory into three main parts. >>

6/ >> Later another 82 parts were found in the mechanism, 30 of which were gears. It is clear that this is a very sophisticated device for that period & it is not for nothing that it has been dubbed the "oldest computer in the world". >>

* Parts of the mechanism.

7/ >> One theory about the origin of the mechanism is that it was built at the Academy of Astronomical Studies in Rhodes between 100-150 BC. What was the mechanism for? This question occupied many researchers over the years. >>

* Restoration & use suggestions for the mechanism.

8/ >> It seems the Antikthara machine was used for calculations based on celestial bodies, & helped map the stars. It is also possible that the device was used to determine dates of holidays or perhaps eclipses of the sun and moon. >>

9/ >> Two years ago another possible part of the machine was found, a disc with four holes in the circumference. An infrared test revealed a carving of a bull. Various experts claim that the role of the disk is unclear, but it does not appear to be part of it.

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