
The Two-Thousand-Year-Old Computer
Documentary about the Antikythera Mechanism, a 2,000-year-old object now regarded as the world's oldest computer, found by divers excavating an ancient Roman shipwreck in 1901.
In 1901, a group of divers excavating an ancient Roman shipwreck near the island of Antikythera, off the southern coast of Greece, found a mysterious object - a lump of calcified stone that contained within it several gearwheels welded together after years under the sea. The 2,000-year-old object, no bigger than a modern laptop, is now regarded as the world's oldest computer, devised to predict solar eclipses and, according to recent findings, calculate the timing of the ancient Olympics. Following the efforts of an international team of scientists, the mysteries of the Antikythera Mechanism are uncovered, revealing surprising and awe-inspiring details of the object that continues to mystify.
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Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Director | Mike Beckham |
| Producer | Mike Beckham |
Broadcasts
- Thu 10 May 201221:00
- Fri 11 May 201203:30
- Mon 14 May 201222:25
- Tue 15 May 201201:55
- Sun 3 Jun 201220:00
Sun 10 Jun 201218:00BBC HD
Tue 12 Jun 201222:30BBC HD- Wed 1 Aug 201223:00
- Sun 5 Aug 201200:50
- Thu 20 Sep 201221:00
- Fri 21 Sep 201201:45
- Boxing Day 201219:00
- Tue 12 Feb 201322:00
- Mon 16 Sep 201320:00
- Tue 17 Sep 201301:00
- Thu 19 Sep 201300:40
- Wed 12 Mar 201420:00
- Thu 13 Mar 201401:45