{
  "id": "antikythera-mechanism-1901",
  "title": "Antikythera: reconstructing an ancient astronomical machine",
  "country": "Greece",
  "category": "objet",
  "date": "1901-01-01",
  "date_label": "1901 recovery; day and month not specified in this dossier",
  "location": "Antikythera island",
  "lat": 35.87,
  "lng": 23.3,
  "location_precision": "region",
  "location_note": "Island-area orientation marker, not a diving coordinate or the present museum location. The timeline uses 1901 as a year-only date.",
  "summary": "Corroded fragments preserve a sophisticated geared astronomical instrument. The investigation separates surviving components, readable inscriptions and the missing parts proposed by modern reconstructions.",
  "verdict": "Ancient geared astronomy is established; details of the complete original design remain research questions.",
  "sources": [
    {
      "id": "A1",
      "title": "Freeth et al. (2021): A Model of the Cosmos",
      "url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10124374/1/s41598-021-84310-w.pdf",
      "kind": "PDF · open-access research",
      "language": "en",
      "note": "Fifteen-page article with diagrams, references and a statement of reconstruction principles."
    },
    {
      "id": "A2",
      "title": "Publisher record and supplementary materials",
      "url": "https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-84310-w",
      "kind": "Research record",
      "language": "en",
      "note": "Includes supplementary discussion, figures and videos. These visualisations are reconstructions."
    },
    {
      "id": "A3",
      "title": "UCL: experts recreate a mechanical Cosmos",
      "url": "https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2021/mar/experts-recreate-mechanical-cosmos-worlds-first-computer",
      "kind": "Institutional research summary",
      "language": "en",
      "note": "Accessible explanation by the institution involved; not independent replication."
    },
    {
      "id": "A4",
      "title": "Voulgaris et al.: proposed draconic gearing",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2104.06181",
      "kind": "Research preprint",
      "language": "en",
      "note": "A different reconstruction problem involving Fragment D; distinguish proposal from surviving mechanism."
    }
  ],
  "sections": [
    {
      "title": "Object brief",
      "text": "The Antikythera mechanism was recovered from a shipwreck near the Greek island in 1901. Its surviving fragments include bronze gearing and inscriptions. The 2021 research paper describes eighty-two fragments and thirty surviving gears, and proposes a reconstruction of the front display. X-ray tomography and surface imaging have allowed researchers to examine details hidden by corrosion. The machine’s astronomical purpose is supported by physical and textual evidence; the complete arrangement of its lost components is a more demanding question.",
      "refs": [
        "A1",
        "A3"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "The reconstruction problem",
      "text": "The 2021 model tries to reconcile planetary periods, inscriptions and limited space. It distinguishes constraints in the fragments from components needed to make the proposed arrangement work. Supplementary figures and videos help explain the model but are not photographs of an intact ancient object. Alternative research on gearing illustrates why individual mechanisms must be assessed against their specific evidence.",
      "refs": [
        "A1",
        "A2",
        "A4"
      ]
    },
    {
      "title": "Inspector’s assessment",
      "text": "Use three labels throughout the file: observed, inferred and reconstructed. Observed evidence includes a surviving tooth, shaft feature or legible character. An inferred value fills a gap through a stated argument. A reconstruction combines such decisions into a workable design. A beautiful animation can hide those boundaries, so every reconstructed wheel should carry a reference and an uncertainty note.",
      "refs": []
    },
    {
      "title": "What would strengthen a proposed design",
      "text": "Mechanical feasibility is necessary but not sufficient. Two designs may produce the same astronomical output while fitting the surviving fragments differently. Compare their constraints before comparing their appearance. A useful independent review would check tooth counts, axes, clearances, inscription readings and the number of unsupported parts. An experiment with a replica tests the replica under its declared assumptions; it does not establish its exact historical identity.",
      "refs": []
    }
  ],
  "timeline": [
    {
      "date": "1901",
      "text": "The mechanism is recovered in the shipwreck investigation.",
      "refs": [
        "A1",
        "A3"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "2005",
      "text": "Microfocus X-ray CT contributes new structural and inscriptional information.",
      "refs": [
        "A1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "March 2021",
      "text": "The Cosmos reconstruction and institutional explanation are published.",
      "refs": [
        "A1",
        "A3"
      ]
    },
    {
      "date": "2021",
      "text": "A separate preprint examines a proposed role for draconic gearing.",
      "refs": [
        "A4"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "text": "Physical fragments preserve bronze gears and astronomical inscriptions.",
      "status": "Documented",
      "refs": [
        "A1"
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "The published front display is a complete surviving ancient object.",
      "status": "Incorrect: it is a reconstruction",
      "refs": [
        "A1",
        "A2"
      ]
    },
    {
      "text": "Every proposed missing gear is uniquely determined.",
      "status": "Not established",
      "refs": [
        "A1",
        "A4"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "hypotheses": [
    {
      "title": "The 2021 Cosmos model",
      "status": "Published reconstruction",
      "support": "It is designed to satisfy specified mechanical and inscriptional constraints.",
      "limits": "Substantial parts are missing; a model is not direct observation of them.",
      "test": "Make a component-by-component map between the proposal and preserved evidence."
    },
    {
      "title": "Other workable arrangements of missing components",
      "status": "Comparison target",
      "support": "Loss of material can leave multiple design choices.",
      "limits": "An alternative must meet the same constraints rather than merely run as a modern device.",
      "test": "Compare predicted clearances, inscriptions and gear relationships using identical inputs."
    }
  ],
  "tasks": [
    {
      "title": "Create a fragment concordance",
      "body": "Link each statement to the fragment and figure that supports it. Keep the authors’ reading, any uncertain character and your interpretation in separate fields."
    },
    {
      "title": "Audit a single gear train",
      "body": "Trace input, ratios and output, recording which wheels survive and which are proposed. State where rounding or reconstructed tooth counts affect the result."
    },
    {
      "title": "Label reconstruction media",
      "body": "For each figure or video, identify its author, publication and whether it shows an original fragment, a scan, a drawing or a modern model."
    }
  ],
  "author": "Eklipsis",
  "content_languages": [
    "en"
  ],
  "path": "/enquetes/antikythera-mechanism-1901",
  "source_url": "https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10124374/1/s41598-021-84310-w.pdf",
  "location_source_url": "https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=35.87&mlon=23.3#map=8/35.87/23.3",
  "reviewed_on": "2026-09-29",
  "edition": 1
}