Scivillage.com Casual Discussion Science Forum

The Sabu Disk

"In 1936, legendary British Egyptologist Walter Bryan Emery unsealed a First Dynasty tomb at Saqqara. Inside the final resting place of Prince Sabu, he unearthed a bizarre, highly engineered object carved entirely out of fragile siltstone.

Dating to 3000 BCE, the circular relic features a central hub with three intricately curved, propeller-like lobes. Because its advanced, aerodynamic design completely predates the official invention of the wheel in Egypt, historians remain entirely baffled by its true purpose!"

The Antikythera mechanism — a Greek ancient computer

"The level of craftsmanship of the ancient computer, now housed at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, is simply mind-boggling when you factor in its age.The Antikythera mechanism has been labeled the first mechanical computer. Found in a shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, buried under 45 meters of water it was designed to calculate astronomical positions. Consisting of a box with dials on the outside and a very complex assembly of gear wheels mounted within, it’s about as complex as an 18th-century top-notch clock, although it’s 2100 years old.

The level of sophistication utilized by the device has forced scientists to accept that their perceptions of ancient Greek engineering may be faulty. Nothing similar to this exists or is mentioned in any known writings from the period of its creation. Based on the knowledge we do have, this mechanism shouldn’t even exist. According to Professor Michael Edmunds of Cardiff University, who led the team studying the mechanism:

“This device is just extraordinary, the only thing of its kind. The design is beautiful, the astronomy is exactly right. The way the mechanics are designed just makes your jaw drop. Whoever has done this has done it extremely carefully.” He added: “…in terms of historic and scarcity value, I have to regard this mechanism as being more valuable than the Mona Lisa.”