
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


In the recent Indiana Jones: The Dial of Destiny movie, the Antikythera Mechanism is used for time travel but in reality it was actually more of a celestial calculator- to track and predict astronomical phenomena. It was discovered by a group of Greek sponge divers in 1901 as they explored the site of an ancient shipwreck that dated back to the first century BCE. Among the wreckage on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, they found a complex arrangement of gears, wheels, and dials housed in a wooden case. It has astounded archaeologists, scientists and historians for years. It challenges our previous understanding of ancient technological capabilities and reveals the sophisticated level of scientific knowledge possessed by the ancient Greeks.
Dan is joined by Professor Tony Freeth, a man who understandings this astonishing object better than most- he is a founding member of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project and an Honorary Professor at University College, London. He believes that the Antikythera Mechanism, may be an iteration of something designed by the great Greek inventor Archimedes, decades earlier...
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.
Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.
If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at [email protected], we'd love to hear from you!
You can take part in our listener survey here.
Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
By History Hit4.7
41484,148 ratings
In the recent Indiana Jones: The Dial of Destiny movie, the Antikythera Mechanism is used for time travel but in reality it was actually more of a celestial calculator- to track and predict astronomical phenomena. It was discovered by a group of Greek sponge divers in 1901 as they explored the site of an ancient shipwreck that dated back to the first century BCE. Among the wreckage on the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, they found a complex arrangement of gears, wheels, and dials housed in a wooden case. It has astounded archaeologists, scientists and historians for years. It challenges our previous understanding of ancient technological capabilities and reveals the sophisticated level of scientific knowledge possessed by the ancient Greeks.
Dan is joined by Professor Tony Freeth, a man who understandings this astonishing object better than most- he is a founding member of the Antikythera Mechanism Research Project and an Honorary Professor at University College, London. He believes that the Antikythera Mechanism, may be an iteration of something designed by the great Greek inventor Archimedes, decades earlier...
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free original podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians like Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Lucy Worsley, Matt Lewis, Tristan Hughes and more.
Get 50% off your first 3 months with code DANSNOW. Download the app or sign up here.
If you want to get in touch with the podcast, you can email us at [email protected], we'd love to hear from you!
You can take part in our listener survey here.
Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

5,472 Listeners

3,232 Listeners

737 Listeners

1,420 Listeners

115 Listeners

3,311 Listeners

531 Listeners

15,634 Listeners

1,890 Listeners

2,059 Listeners

2,860 Listeners

179 Listeners

1,386 Listeners

2,470 Listeners

1,564 Listeners

1,115 Listeners

1,079 Listeners