In 1901, sponge divers working a wreck off a small Greek island pulled up a lump of corroded bronze that looked like little more than debris. Only later did its true nature emerge, revealing a geared ...

The corroded fragments of that device, known today as the Antikythera mechanism, have become a touchstone for how much ancient science achieved and how much of it we have lost. I see in this “first ...

In the azure waters off the coast of Antikythera, Greece, a chance discovery in the early 20th century transformed our understanding of ancient technology. A sponge diver, exploring the remnants of a ...