In 1900 a group of sponge divers blown of course in the Mediterranean discovered an Ancient Greek shipwreck dating from around 70 BC. Lying unnoticed for months amongst their hard-won haul was what appeared to be a formless lump of corroded rock, which turned out to be the most stunning scientific artefact we have from antiquity. For more than a century this ‘Antikythera mechanism’ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism) puzzled academics, but now, more than 2000 years after the device was lost at sea, scientists have pieced together its intricate workings.
In Decoding the Heavens, Jo Marchant (http://jomarchant.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Marchant) tells for the first time the story of the 100-year quest to understand this ancient computer. Along the way she unearths a diverse cast of remarkable characters – ranging from Archimedes to Jacques Cousteau – and explores the deep roots of modern technology in Ancient Greece, the Islamic world and medieval Europe. This is a fascinating read.
336 pages in Windmill Books paperback edition
ISBN 978-009951976
Jo Marchant