World's first computer, the Antikythera Mechanism, 'started up' in 178 B.C., scientists claim

The Antikythera mechanism, thought to be the world's first computer, was begun on December 22, 178 B.C., according to archaeologists.

The ancient computer that was discovered by sponge divers in a Roman-era wreck near the Greek island of Antikythera was able to predict eclipses and determine when various athletic games took place.

Researchers have pieced together fragments of the mechanism to figure out how it was created and how it would have been used. There are a lot of questions surrounding the device. What location did they live in? What started it and why? A team of scientists decided that the "turn on" date was March 28 and that they would post their findings on the arXiv database.

Scientists not associated with the study told Live Science that the start date was probably in 204 B.C.

The initiation date is the date in which all calculations using the mechanism will be based. A reference point is needed before a measuring instrument can be used. Someone using the mechanism would need a starting date for all calculations.

One of the mysteries of the mechanical marvel is when it was created. Understanding what many of the gears and dial were used for has been achieved by previous research. The creation of a computer model of the mechanism that the scholars believe is accurate was announced in 2021.

Scholars react

Live Science reached out to scholars not associated with the research to get their opinions on the findings. The people who did respond were skeptical.

Alexander Jones, a professor at New York University's Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, said in an email that the paper was not suitable for peer review. There are a lot of problems with it, ranging from major issues to minor ones that are indicative of lack of good grounding in the broad context of ancient astronomy and science.

Jones pointed out that February is not a good month for ripe grapes because of the start date.

The starting date was shown in two papers published in the new tab. The eclipse prediction sequence had been computed for a unique 223-lunar-month interval starting in 204 B.C., according to the two papers. On May 12 204 B.C., there was a lunar eclipse.

The original article was published on Live Science.