The Antikythera Mechanism …… that ancient Greek astronomical analogue computer ......on the wireless ... today

It's the stuff of science fiction and pop history, and I might have turned my back on it, but the discovery of an ancient Greek, astronomical analogue computer is true

And the rest is a fascinating wireless programme on Radio 4.

"Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the 2000-year-old device which transformed our understanding of astronomy in ancient Greece. In 1900 a group of sponge divers found the wreck of a ship off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera. 

Among the items salvaged was a corroded bronze object, the purpose of which was not at first clear. It turned out to be one of the most important discoveries in marine archaeology. 

Over time, researchers worked out that it was some kind of astronomical analogue computer, the only one to survive from this period as bronze objects were so often melted down for other uses. 

In recent decades, detailed examination of the Antikythera Mechanism using the latest scientific techniques indicates that it is a particularly intricate tool for showing the positions of planets, the sun and moon, with a complexity and precision not surpassed for over a thousand years.

With, Mike Edmunds, Emeritus Professor of Astrophysics at Cardiff University ,Jo Marchant, Science journalist and author of 'Decoding the Heavens' on the Antikythera Mechanism, and, Liba Taub, Professor Emerita in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge and Visiting Scholar at the Deutsches Museum, Munich

Producer: Simon Tillotson

In Our Time is a BBC Studios Audio Production"

And like all the programmes in the series it is available now and when ever you want to listen, by just following the link.

Pictures; The Pictorial History Book, 1952

*The Antikythera Mechanism, In Our Time, BBC Radio 4, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0024x0g