Antikythera Mechanism

The world's first known analog computer, built by ancient Greeks/Archaeology & Antiquities

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, often described as the first known analog computer. It was used to predict astronomical positions, eclipses, and even the dates of the ancient Olympic Games. Recovered from a Roman-era shipwreck near the Greek island of Antikythera in 1901, the device dates to roughly 100 BC. It contains at least 30 meshing bronze gears in a wooden case the size of a shoebox. Nothing of comparable complexity appeared in the archaeological record for over a thousand years.