The Mystery of the "Dial of Destiny" Revealed After 2,000 Years

An ancient, mysterious device served as the inspiration for the "Dial of Destiny" in the final Indiana Jones film (Indiana Jones and the Wheel of Destiny). And now scientists believe they may have finally solved the mystery of the ancient Antikythera mechanism.

A mysterious ancient Greek device that is more than 2,000 years old is believed to be the oldest computer in history, the Daily Mail notes.

Some scholars describe it as the most complex engineering structure to survive from the ancient world.

Others say it was a hand-cranked mechanical device used to determine the positions of the sun, moon and planets.

Its level of sophistication is so high that UFO enthusiasts have even put forward incredible suggestions that this device could be evidence that aliens were passing on knowledge to ancient human civilizations.

But new research offers an alternative theory for the Antikythera Mechanism.

Researchers from the National University of Mar del Plata in Argentina now suggest it was more of a toy than a working computer, the Daily Mail reports.

In 1901, divers searching for sponges off the coast of the Greek island of Antikythera discovered a mechanical device among the wreckage of a sunken ship.

The mysterious bronze object has been dated to the late second or early first century BC, and there has been much debate in the scientific community about its purpose ever since.

Unfortunately, the shoebox-sized device has been broken into fragments and eroded, leading to uncertainties and far-fetched theories surrounding its original purpose.

Since only one example of this type has been found so far, some have suggested that the device is of otherworldly origin – a gift from a distant planet.

But the general assumption, based on decades of research and analysis, is that the so-called Antikythera mechanism functioned as a kind of manually controlled mechanical computer.

Consisting of 40 bronze gears, the mechanism allowed the ancient Greeks to predict the movement of stars and planets with stunning accuracy.

The user turned a small crank (now lost) that activated a system of 40 or more internal gears.

On the front side, indicators showed where the sun and moon were located in the sky, and the phase of the moon was also displayed.

For their new study, scientists from the National University of Mar del Plata created a computer model of the artifact.

In particular, they studied the triangular interlocking "teeth" of the gears, which are said to be integral to the mechanism's operation.

Scientists found that manufacturing inaccuracies could cause the device to jam so often that it would become unusable.

Such jamming, caused by turning the handle, would make the device impractical for scientific use.

Based on what we know about its shape, "inaccuracies in manufacturing significantly increase the likelihood of teeth jamming or disengaging," experts note.

At the same time, the triangular shape of the teeth "leads to uneven movement, causing acceleration and deceleration with each engagement."

In conclusion, the researchers suggest that if the device kept jamming, it may have been nothing more than a clever toy made for a child.

However, researchers point out how much time and effort went into creating the device, as well as the craftsmanship with which it was made.

"It seems unlikely that anyone could create such a complex and yet non-functional device," the researchers add.

It is worth noting, the Daily Mail adds, that only about a third of the Antikythera mechanism has survived, so some important parts of the device have most likely been lost.

Therefore, the device must have been made more reliably than their simulations indicate (they emphasize that "the results should be interpreted with caution").

In any case, the development team calls for "more sophisticated methods to better understand the true accuracy and functionality of the Antikythera Mechanism."

Earlier, British astrophysicist Mike Edmunds concluded that the main purpose of the Antikythera Mechanism was more of an educational demonstration than a tool for making practical and accurate astronomical predictions.

The team agrees: "Our assumptions are that the errors identified by Edmunds exceed the acceptable limits needed to prevent crashes."