Photograph by Jo Marchant

On Easter Tuesday, 1900, sponge divers from the island of Symi discovered a Roman shipwreck near the coast of the small island of Antikythera. A few months later, the Greek State organized the very first major underwater archaeology expedition, with the sponge divers, assisted by the Greek Royal Navy.

The wreck is dated ca 80 - 60 BCE while much of its rich cargo dates from before the second century BCE; among the superb findings was an object containing gears, dials and inscriptions, also dated during the second half of this century. This particular object is now called the “Antikythera Mechanism” and is on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Since its discovery, speculation on its use has run from an astronomical device, an astrolabe, planetarium or navigational device, to a combination of various devices.

Over a century of research has now established that it is in fact the oldest known astronomical and calendrical calculating machine. It has been called the “World’s First Computer”. The three main fragments of the Mechanism are on display in the Bronze Collection of the National Archaeological Museum; the remaining 79 smaller fragments are kept in the collection’s store