Wikipedia: The Antikythera Mechanism

Certain archaeological finds have redefined history.

For instance, the Rosetta Stone allowed for the translation of languages previously unknown.

Pontius Pilate was assumed to be a fictional character until his name was unearthed from 2,000 year old ruins.

And ancient Mediterranean mariners were shown to be much more sophisticated in their navigational skills, thanks to the discovery of the Antikythera Mechanism.

Today's FamilyFirst pick is the Wikipedia entry on this amazing machined navigational calculator that predates Christ.

It was discovered in 1900, but the true extent of its internal workings weren't discovered until quite recently.

It is an extremely complicated bronze mechanism. It is based on theories of astronomy and mathematics developed by Persian and Egyptian astronomers, which the ancient mariners used to calculate their position on the high seas.

It's amazing stuff, and redefined what we know about the ancient world.

Read all about it Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism

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