[Chad C. Mulligan]

One has to wonder why the Antikythera Mechanism was not produced in numbers if it was genuinely useful.

The idea of mass production was 2000 years in their future. EVERYTHING they made was hand-crafted. That thing probably took years to make. Consider how long it took John Harrison to make the first successful seagoing chronometer by hand.

Credit should have been given to Carl Zeiss IMT, who built the X-ray CAT scanner that enabled the researchers to see inside those corroded lumps and measure the parts so precisely.

[Rockingham]

Even in the ancient world, standardized, serial production was common notwithstanding that it was done by hand: coins; stone construction blocks; maps; scrolls; wheels; tools; arrows and spear points; rope; and much else. And then and now, if something is genuinely useful, a lot of them get produced. So why not the mechanism?

[gleeaikin]

I decided to find out more about this amazing scientific discovery and artifact. See detailed description at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism

Dates I list here are approximate. The bits and pieces began to be found in 1901 in a 60 to 70 BC Roman shipwreck. Over the years other parts have been found in the sea including in this century, or in storage in various museums. Construction and callibration seems to have begun around 200 BC. Solar, lunar, and Olympic cycle calculations appear to have been part of the mechanism, among others. A part(s) dealing with planetary calculations appears to have not yet been found. Given this and other choice artifacts found in the shipwreck, my guess is that this was part of organized theft of Greek items of value by predatory Romans (governmental or private) as part of the overall conquest of Greece and their civilization.

The work appears to have been a collaboration among lead scietistists of that day and developed over time to try to integrate much of the astronomical science knowledge of that period. I would guess much like the importance and complexity of cooperation represented by our own NASA astronomical collaborations. I doubt extraterrestrials were involved. It would probably have required the very best craftsmen working with the greatest minds to develop and coordinate such complexity. As to were more than one produced? My guess is that some of the subunits probably had prototypes and final parts made, but this find probably represents the sole culmination of much work over time. I ask the question of you all, why is there only one Mona Lisa painting, one Sistene Chapel ceiling painting, or one David marble statue? Yes, there are copies, but only one original of vast cost and value.

At any rate, check out the link for a greater appreciation of the depth and range of Greek intellect and curiosity of that period. Not to be rediscovered and developed further until our own 1700s, around 3 centuries ago.