Nova: Ancient Computer

Gift from the sea
As you read this review there are some 3 million ship wrecks lying beneath the waves (most unexplored).

In 1901 one of those ship wrecks -- of a Roman trading vessel that sunk while headed home to port --was discovered by Greek spong divers. Among its treasures were hoards of coins, various statues, amphoras of wine and most importantly an ancient computer.

For most of the past 100 years that ancient computer has been an enigma. Interestingly enough the size of a contemporary laptop, the ancient computer now is basically one rusted hunk of metal through which observers can easily see the evidences of gear mechanisms that it used for whatever its purpose was.

In one of history's great detective stories this DVD removes the rust from the device revealing not only what it looked like in antiquity but also what its purpose was and who probably made it. In terms of its appearance, it's like a larger version of the inside of an old watch, with its...

Dont underestimate our ancient ancestors
This is a superb reissue of a great British program on perhaps the greatest archaeological find of all time. This computer (antikythera mechanism) pushed back the history of complex (differential) gearing by about 1700 years! The forensics of determining how this thing works is fascinating. This program doesn't entail technical issues as these are intricate and require a great deal of knowledge of astronomy. This device was a calendar computer that could predict eclipses among other things. It tells alot about ancient Greek social issues as well. A good video for high school students (history and science).

History Exposed
How amazing to watch today's scientists create new technology so we can understand the most amazing artifact yet uncovered. Ancient Greece had a working mechanical computer!

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