Anachronism

What is your opinion about anachronisms?

Are they possible? In what way?

Just do everything they did back in the day?

Some have inquired on a scientific explanation of the Ark's operation. Historical inquiry concerning the Ark of the Covenant indicates that it operated as an electrical circuit have been held by some, including, in the 1900s, electrical engineer Nikola Tesla. The design of the ark have characteristics to generate an electric charge, and thus could facilitate an electric discharge between the cherubs. Exodus 28 also describe priests garments which seem similar to static control smocks.
   
The biblical accounts of individuals sudden deaths from touching the Ark could correspond to death by a lethal high voltage charge. In Leviticus 10, Nadab and Abihu perform unprescribed procedures with the Ark which results in a "fire from the Lord," which "devoured" Aaron's sons. Some biblical accounts could correspond with exposure to some extremely high frequency electromagnetic fields (such as ultraviolet light or x-rays). "Fiery jets" occasionally burned and destroyed close objects. Louis Ginzberg's "Legends of the Jews" has ancient oral traditions referring to "sparks" from the cherubim.
    
"Two sparks issued from the Cherubim that shaded the Ark, and these killed all the serpents and scorpions that crossed the path of the Israelites, and furthermore burned all thorns that threatened to injure the wanderers on their march through the desert."
    
Jewish legend also has occasional records of a "cloud" between the cherubim. The Ark was considered dangerous at these times and Moses would not approach it.

Tesla, in the article "The fairy tale of electricity" (published September 9, 1915), stated in regards to the Ark:
   
"The records, though scanty, are of a nature to fill us with conviction that a few initiated, at least, had a deeper knowledge of amber phenomena. To mention one, Moses was undoubtedly a practical and skillful electrician far in advance of his time. The Bible describes precisely, and minutely, arrangements constituting a machine in which electricity was generated by friction of air against silk curtains, and stored in a box constructed like a condenser. It is very plausible to assume that the sons of Aaron were killed by a high-tension discharge, and that the vestal fires of the Romans were electrical."
    
Of the archaeological discoveries of the last century (which include the Baghdad Battery among others), there is an indication that a working knowledge of energy devices might have been present in ancient Middle Eastern cultures. Moses' received specialized training in the house of Pharaoh (Exodus 2:10).
    
The more recent theory concerning the Ark's operation, that the Ark of the Covenant was a extraterrestrial communications box, by Author Erich von Däniken is considered fringe science by mainstream archaeology. However, in the film "Chariots of the Gods", von Däniken showed an Ark replica made by Minnesota college students which produced an electrical charge.

The Baghdad Battery is the common name for a number of artifacts created during the Iranian dynasty of Parthia and probably discovered in the village of Khuyut Rabbou'a (near Baghdad, Iraq) in 1936. These artifacts came to wider attention in 1938, when Wilhelm König, the German director of the National Museum of Iraq, found the objects in the museum's collections, and in 1940 (having returned to Berlin due to illness) published a paper speculating that they may have been galvanic cells, perhaps used for electroplating gold onto silver objects.

The artifacts consist of ~130mm (~5 inch) tall terracotta jars (with a one and a half inch mouth) containing a copper cylinder made of a rolled-up copper sheet, which houses a single iron rod. At the top, the iron rod is isolated from the copper by asphalt plugs or stoppers, and both rod and cylinder fit snugly inside the opening of the jar which bulges outward towards the middle (reverse hourglass shape). The copper cylinder is not watertight, so when the jar was filled with a liquid, this would surround the iron rod as well. The artifact had been exposed to the weather and had suffered corrosion, although mild given the presence of an electrochemical couple. This has led some scholars to believe lemon juice, grape juice, or vinegar was used as an acidic agent to jumpstart the electrochemical reaction with the two metals.

König thought the objects might be Parthian (between 250 BC and 224 AD) because the Parthian village where they were excavated was under Parthian rule at the time. However according to Dr. St. John Simpson of the Near Eastern department of the British Museum, their original excavation and context were not well recorded (see stratigraphy), so evidence for this date range is very weak. Furthermore, the style of the pottery (see typology) is Sassanid (224-640), so they are probably much more recent than König thought.

Most of the components of the objects are not particularly amenable to advanced dating methods. The ceramic pots could be analysed by thermoluminescence dating, but this has apparently not yet been done; in any case, it would only date the firing of the pots, which is not necessarily the same as when the complete artifact was assembled. Another possibility would be ion diffusion analysis, which could indicate how long the objects were buried.

Copper and iron form an electrochemical couple, so that in the presence of any electrolyte, an electric potential (voltage) will be produced. König had observed a number of very fine silver objects from ancient Iraq which were plated with very thin layers of gold, and speculated that they were electroplated using batteries of these "cells". After the Second World War, Willard Gray demonstrated current production by a reconstruction of the inferred battery design when filled with grape juice. W. Jansen experimented with benzoquinone (some beetles produce quinones) and vinegar in a cell and got satisfactory performance.

However, even among those who believe the artifacts were electrical devices, electroplating as a use is not well regarded today. The gilded objects which König thought might be electroplated are now believed to have been fire-gilded (with mercury). Reproduction experiments of electroplating by Dr. Arne Eggebrecht consumed "many" reproduction cells to achieve a plated layer just one micrometre thick. Other scientists noted that Dr. Eggebrecht used a more efficient, modern electrolyte; using only vinegar, the "battery" is very feeble.

An alternative, but still electrical explanation was offered by Paul Keyser. It was suggested that a priest or healer, using an iron spatula to compound a vinegar based potion in a copper vessel, may have felt an electrical tingle, and used the phenomenon either for electro-acupuncture, or to amaze supplicants by electrifying a metal statue.

The Discovery Channel program MythBusters determined that it was indeed plausible for ancient people to have used the Baghdad Battery for electroplating or electrostimulation. However, the batteries which they reproduced did not produce a substantial amount of energy and had to be connected in series in order to test the theories.

Whoever made the Baghdad batteries, assuming they were in fact galvanic cells, may not have fully understood the principles. For example, it is well known that the Ancient Greeks were aware of electrostatic electrical phenomena produced by amber, but they regarded it as a mere curiosity or toy and developed no electrical theory or functional devices. For evidence of ancient Parthian knowledge of the ideas of electricity, records of its use await discovery in more concrete terms, such as seeing it discussed in their writings (though they may not have stated it as 'electricity', relating instead a mystical connotation) or gaining a better perception that their "batteries" were designed with a knowledge of electrical theory. A controversy also exists as to whether the Ancient Egyptians could have used such devices (with a device such as the Dendera Light).

As electrical generators, the "Baghdad batteries" would be inefficient when compared to modern devices. However, if placed in appropriate network arrays, these artifacts could produce a qualitative power output. Luigi Galvani formulated a similar electrochemical couple experiment in the 1780s and, 20 years later, Alessandro Volta developed enough theory to convert Galvani's simple experiment into the efficient voltaic pile, producing around 30 volts of continuous current using devices which were much larger than known Baghdad relics. Within two or three more years Sir Humphry Davy was using voltaic piles that produced 1,000 volts and enough current to run an arc lamp.

The idea that the battery could have produced usable levels of electricity has been put to the test at least twice.

On the 1980 British Television series Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, Egyptogist Dr Arne Eggebrecht used a recreation of the battery, filled with grape juice, to produce half a volt of electricity, demonstrating for the programme that the battery could electroplate a silver statuette in two hours, using a gold cyanide solution. Dr Eggebrecht speculated that museums could contain many mislabelled "golden" items that are merely electroplated.

On MythBusters' 29th episode (which aired on March 23, 2005), ten hand-made terracotta jars were fitted to act as batteries. Lemon juice was chosen as the electrolyte to activate the electrochemical reaction between the copper and iron. (Oddly enough, it was discovered that a single lemon produced more voltage than one of the batteries). When all of the batteries were linked together in series, they produced upwards of 4 volts. Then, the major question was, "What were these ancient batteries used for?"

The show's research staff proposed three possible uses: electroplating, medical pain relief (through acupuncture), and religious experience. It was discovered that the "linked" batteries indeed had sufficient power to electroplate a small token. For acupuncture, the batteries produced a "random" pulse that could be felt through the needles; however, it began to produce a painful burning sensation when the batteries were grounded to two needles at once.

1180 Japan,  Kii province: A term equivalent to our "flying saucer" was actually used by the Japanese approximately 700 years before it came into use in the West.  Ancient documents describe an unusual shining object seen in the night as a flying "earthenware vessel."  The object, which had been heading northeast from a mountain in Kii province, changed its direction and vanished below the horizon, leaving a luminous trail.

1200 England:  William of Newburgh describes a silvery, flat, shiny disc-like object, which appeared near the abbey and frightened everyone near it.

1207 England, Tilbury:Gervase of Tilbury writes in Otio Imperialia about an aerial ship which caught its anchor on a pile of stones. An occupant came down from the ship and managed to free it, however he was asphyxiated by the atmosphere.

1211 England, Gravesend, Kent: During a Sunday mass it is said that the congregation saw an anchor descend and catch on a tombstone in the churchyard.  The churchgoers rushed outside to see a strange 'ship' in the sky, with people on board.  One occupant of the vessel leaped over the side, but did not fall: 'as if swimming in water' he made his way through the air toward the anchor.  The people on the ground tried to capture him.  The man then 'hurried up to the ship.'  His companions cut the anchor rope, and the ship then 'sailed out of sight.'  The local blacksmith made ornaments from the abandoned anchor to decorate the church lectern.

1235 Japan:  What might be called the first official investigation of a UFO sighting occurred in Japan in 1235. During the night while General Yoritsume and his army were encamped, mysterious lights were observed in the heavens. The lights were seen in the southwest for many hours, winging, circling and moving in loops. The general ordered a "full-scale scientific investigation" of these strange events. The report finally submitted to him has the "soothing" ring of many contemporary explanations offered for UFO phenomena. In essence it read: "the whole thing is completely natural, General. It is... only the wind making the stars sway." 

1239 England: Matthew of Paris:  “On July 24 at dusk, but not when the stars came out, while the air was clear, serene and shining, a great star appeared. It was like a torch, rising from the south, and flying on both sides of it, there was emitted in the height of the sky a very great light. It turned quickly towards the north, not quickly, nor, indeed, with speed, but exactly as it wished to ascend to a place high in the air.”

1254 England, St Albans:  Some monks at saw in the night sky 'a kind of large ship elegantly shaped and well-equipped and of marvelous color'. 

1270 England, Bristol: A spaceship was seen, which landed and an occupant came down from a ladder and was suffocated in the Earth's atmosphere.

1271 Japan: The famous priest Nichiren was about to be headed at Tatsunokuchi, Kamakura, when there appeared in the sky an object like a full moon, shiny and bright.  The officials panicked and the execution was not carried out.

1290 England, Yorkshire:  The Abbot and monks of Byland Abbey, (the largest Cistercian abbey in England), were about to commence a meal when one of the brethren ran in to announce a great portent outside. They all ran outside and saw a large silver disc fly slowly overhead and caused the utmost terror.

1320 England, Durham: After the abbot of Durham Abbey died and was buried, a strange light was seen to descend from the sky and move about over his grave.

1332 England, Uxbridge: There was seen in the sky a pile (pillar) of fire the size of a small boat, pallid and livid in colour. It rose from the south, crossed the sky with a slow and grave motion, and went north. Out of the front of the pile, a fervent red flame burst forth with great beams of light.  Its speed increased, and it flew through the air.

1361 Japan: A flying object described as being "shaped like a drum, about twenty feet in diameter" emerged from the inland sea off the western Japanese coast.

1387 England, Northamptonshire: A fire in the sky, like a burning and revolving wheel, or round barrel of flame, emitting fire from above, and others in the shape of a long fiery beam, were seen through a great deal of the winter.

1394 England: "A certain thing appeared in the likeness of fire in many parts of England every night. This fiery apparition, oftentimes when anybody went alone, it would go with him, and would stand still when he stood still. To some it appeared in the likeness of a turning wheel burning; to other some a round object, the likeness of a barrel, flashing out flames of fire at the head; to others, the likeness of a long burning lance."

1453 Constantinople: "A fire descended from the sky, stood over the City, and enveloped her with light all night long." Written during the siege of Constantinople.

1458 Japan:  An object as bright as the full moon, followed by curious signs, was seem in the sky. 

1461 France, Arras:  A fiery thing like an iron rod of good length and as large as one half of the moon was seen in the sky for less than a quarter of an hour. This object was also described as being "shaped like a ship from which fire was seen flowing."

1468 Japan:  A dark object, which made a "sound like a wheel," flew from Mt. Kasuag toward the west at midnight.

1479 Arabia: There is a woodcut of UFO that was sighted over Arabia in an illustrated volume published in 1557.  The Prodigiorum Ac Ostentorum Chronicon, text by Conrad Lycosthenes, is one of the best-illustrated books of the Renaissance depicting medieval superstition.  On page 494 is a woodcut showing a spaceship seen over Arabia in 1479.

1492 From "The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus."  Christopher Columbus and Pedro Gutierrez while on the deck of the Santa Maira, observed, "a light glimmering at a great distance." It vanished and reappeared several times during the night, moving up and down, "in sudden and passing gleams." It was sighted 4 hours before land was sighted, and taken by Columbus as a sign they would soon come to land.

1606 Japan, Nijo Castle:  A whirling ball of fire was seen hovering over the castle.

1643 England: From diarist, John Evelyn.  “I must not forget what amazed us exceedingly the night before, namely, a shining cloud in the air in a shape resembling a sword, the point reaching to the north. It was as bright as the moon, the rest of the sky being very serene. It began about 11 at night and vanished not till about one, being seen by all the south of England.”

1676 Edmond Hally, the astronomer who discovered Haley's comet, could recall two accounts involving unidentified crafts.  His first experience was in March of, when he saw a, as he said, "Vast body apparently bigger than the moon." He estimated it at 40 mi. above him. He also stated that it made a noise, "Like the rattling of a great cart over stones."  After estimating the distance it traveled in a matter of minutes, he came to the conclusion that it moved at a speed greater than 9,600 m.p.h.

1686 Germany, Leipzig:  A fiery ball of light was seen to travel east to west before hovering some seven minutes in the sky at an estimated altitude of 30 miles. It was about half the size of the moon and gradually vanished from view.

1700 In the US, there is an 18th century Indian legend about luminous humanoid beings who paralyzed people with a small tube. In variations of these tales, Indian women were even said to have married a couple of these "star people".

1733 England, Dorset, Fleet:  Dec 8 - James Cracker of, a small town in, , saw a silvery disc fly overhead in broad daylight. Here is his eyewitness account: "Something in the sky which appeared in the north but vanished from my sight, as it was intercepted by trees, from my vision. I was standing in a valley. The weather was warm, the sun shone brightly. All of a sudden it re-appeared, darting in and out of my sight with an amazing coruscation. The colour of this phenomenon was like burnished, or new-washed silver. It shot with speed like a star falling in the night. But it had a body much larger and a train longer than any shooting star I have seen. Next day Mr. Edgecombe informed me that he and another gentleman had seen this strange phenomenon at the same time as I had. It was about 15 miles from where I saw it, and steering a course from east to north."

1742 England:  An account by a Fellow of the Royal Society: “I was crossing St James park when a light rose from behind the trees and houses, from the south and west, which at first I thought was a rocket of large size. But when it rose 20 degrees, it moved parallel to the horizon, but waved like this (the speaker drew an undulating line) and went on in the direction of north-by-east. It seemed very near. Its motion was very slow. I had it for about half a mile in view. A light flame was turned backwards by the resistance the air made to it. From one of burning charcoal. That end was a frame like bars of iron, and quite opaque in my sight. At one point on the longitudinal frame, or cylinder, it issued a train in the shape of a tail of light more bright at one point on the rod or cylinder; so that it was transparent for more than half of its length. The head of this strange object seemed about a half a degree in diameter and the tail near three degrees in length.”

1749 Japan: For four days three round objects were seen in the skies.

1860 USA, Louisiana, Shreveport:  "Our attention was called to a strange light in the heavens.  On going out into the gallery we had a magnificent view of it.  It appeared to the naked eye, about 300 yards in length, extending from North to West appearing just above the tallest trees.  Its color was that of a red hot stove from the center beautiful rays resembling those of the sun drawing water would ascend to a considerable height, the whole presenting a very beautiful and sublime appearance.  We watched it for about an hour without perceiving it to change any. 

1862 Indian Ocean: A shipwrecked Danish sailor reported seeing a strange aircraft as large as a battleship with four huge wings. This object was seen to crash into a cliff and was destroyed.

1868 Chile, Copiago: A strange "aerial construction bearing lights and making engine noises flew low over this town. Local people also described it as a giant bird covered with large scales producing a metallic noise. Although not an actual landing, this is the first instance of close observation of an unknown object at low altitude in the nineteenth century.

1868 England, Oxford:  Astronomers at Radcliffe Observatory saw a luminous object that moved quickly across the sky, stopped, changed course to the west, then to the south, where it hovered for four minutes, then headed toward the north.

1870 African Coast:  Capt. F.W. Banner and crew reported  “A semi-circle divided into four parts, and a central shaft extending far outward & curving backward emitted vivid shafts of light.”

1870 Atlantic Ocean:  An object was seen from the ship Lady of the Lake that appeared to be a light-gray colored disk that flew against the wind.

1873 USA, Texas, Bonham: A huge cigar-shaped object swooped low over the town of on two occasions and in broad daylight. It then disappeared quickly to the east.

1874 Mexico, Oaxaca: Residents saw a huge, gently swaying, trumpet-shaped object estimated to be 425 feet long hovering in the sky for six minutes.

1875 Czechoslovakia, Prague: A Professor Schafarick saw "an object of such strange nature that I do not know what to say about it. It was of a blinding white and crossed slowly the face of the moon. It remained visible afterwards."

1877 France, Venice:  Reports of a "cloud cigar" "fiery spheres, extremely luminous, came out of a cloud of peculiar shape and went slowly toward the north for one hour.

1878 USA, Texas:  John Martin, a farmer, spotted a fast moving dark object high in the southern sky. When it passed overhead, he saw that it was the size of a 'large saucer'.  It continued on its way and was soon lost to view. In recounting the event, a local newspaper remarked, 'Mr. Martin is a gentleman of undoubted veracity and this strange occurrence, if it was not a balloon, deserves the attention of our scientists'.

10,000 BC is a 2008 American prehistoric film directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Camilla Belle and Steven Strait. The film is slated for a March 7, 2008 release.

22-year-old mammoth hunter D'Leh, a member of a hunter-gatherer tribe living in 10,000 B.C. (at the end of the late Upper Paleolithic period), travels through unknown lands on a quest to rescue his people from extinction. Leading an army, D'Leh uncovers a lost civilization while in pursuit of a warlord who kidnapped his love, Evolet. D'Leh and his army encounter saber-toothed cats, mammoths and other prehistoric creatures in the journey to save his tribe.

Critics argue that aspects of the Book of Mormon narrative do not agree with modern archaeology and point out that archaeologists and anthropologists view the Book of Mormon as a work of fiction. The Book of Mormon contains an account of peoples who, in succeeding groups between 2200 BC and 600 BC, traveled from the Middle East and settled in the Americas. Many critics cite the following accounts in the Book of Mormon which are not supported by modern science:

* There were pre-Columbian peoples that were white, literate, and had knowledge of Hebrew and Egyptian languages and writing systems. (1 Nephi 13:23)
* They smelted metal and made tools and weapons of iron, steel, and brass. (Ether 7:9, 10:23)
* They possessed chariots. (Alma 18:9-12)
* They owned domesticated horses and cattle.  It is widely accepted that horses were extinct in the Western Hemisphere over 10,000 years ago and did not reappear until the Spaniards brought them from Europe.

Apologists point out that it is often difficult to obtain archaeological evidence to prove or disprove ancient events.

>>3
tl;dr (past the 1st)

Still, this anon lieks reading. I'll get back to this later

In the Vedic literature of India, there are many descriptions of flying machines that are generally called Vimanas. India's national epic, The Mahabharata, is a poem of vast length and complexity. According to Dr. Vyacheslav Zaitsev: "the holy Indian Sages, the Ramayana for one, tell of "Two storied celestial chariots with many windows" "They roar like off into the sky until they appear like comets." The Mahabharata and various Sanskrit books describe at length these chariots, "powered by winged lighting...it was a ship that soared into the air, flying to both the solar and stellar regions."

The ancient Hindu text scriptures, the Bhagavata-Purana, Mahabharata and Ramayana, date back to at least 3000 B.C. and are among some of the oldest writings currently known to man. They speak extensively about flying machines called Vimanas that flew not only the skies, but to the stars as well. India's Vedic writings speak of gods, (they called Devas) from other star systems. They tell of how the human soul is nonphysical and how our sentient energy goes through a succession of physical bodies, as only the physical body dies.

The Bhagavatam describes spaceships of different categories. One category is gross mechanical spaceships called ka-pota-vayu. Ka means 'outer space,' and pota means 'ship.' These kind of spaceships are known on our planet. The second category of spaceships are very subtle. They are called akasa-patana. The akasa-patana spaceships can fly at the speed of mind. In the verse (4.12.27) of the Bhagavatam a transcendental spaceship is described. The general mass of people can neither see such crafts nor understand how they fly in the sky.

On different planets, there are different kinds of spaceships. On this gross planet earth, there are spaceships run by mechanical means, but on other planets, the spaceships are run by sound vibrations not by mechanical means. They are used by the denizens of the heavenly planets for enjoyment, such as traveling from one planet to another.

On other planets, such as the Siddhalokas, the denizens can travel from one planet to another without spaceships. The inhabitants of these planets are materially perfect beings who have full capacities to control gravity, space and time. They are naturally endowed with mystic powers to go from one planet to another without using any spaceships.

On the Satyaloka planetary system, the spacecrafts are controlled by psychic power not by gross mechanical means. The higher-dimensional sphere of the upper planetary systems is the natural field of flying spaceships of this type.

Several thousand of li from China, in what is today Russia, it is said that the people were able to manufacture wheels for a flying machine. Each flying machine required four wheels in all. Furthermore, legend has it that they were able to fly one thousand li in one day. The people of Xi Wu also produced a flying machine, and utilizing a bellows usually used in smelting, a pulley hauling device, and other methods, enabled the flying machine to move. The machine was able to float in the air and move freely and without obstacle on rivers or land. During the dangerous times of war and turmoil, this vehicle could be used to ward off attacks from the enemy.

"The Chi Kung people were good at making mechanical devices for killing all kinds of birds. They could also make aerial carriages which, with a fair wind, traveled great distances. In the time of the emperor Thang [mid-second millennium B.C.], a westerly wind carried such a car as far as Yüchow, whereupon Thang had the car taken to pieces, not wishing his own people to see it. Ten years later there came an easterly wind (of sufficient strength), and then the car was reassembled and the visitors were sent back to their own country, which lies 40,000 li beyond the Jade Gate."
     - Chang Hua, "Po Wu Chih" ('Record of Investigation of Things') in the Po Wu Chih

"Some use the inner part of the jujube tree to make a flying vehicle, using ox leather straps fastened to encircling blades, so as to propel this machine. Some others have the idea of making five snakes, six dragons, and three oxen [these are kites in the shape of these animals] encounter the 'hard wind', and so ride it, rising up 40 li. That region is called the Tai Qing ('Area of Upper Air'). In the Tai Qing region, the air is very hard, and can lift people. The Master says that a yuan flying, spiraling higher and higher, only needs to straighten out its two wings and not flap them any more to move forward, because it is riding on the hard wind. The dragons when they first rise up, step on the clouds, going to 40 li altitude, then fly by themselves. This account comes from the Taoist adepts, and is recounted, being handed down to ordinary people, yet the common people are not really able to understand it."
     - Ko Hung (A.D. 283-343), Pao Pu Tzu

The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient mechanical calculator (also described as the first "mechanical computer") designed to calculate astronomical positions. It was discovered in the Antikythera wreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, between Kythera and Crete, in 1900. Subsequent investigation, particularly in 2006, dated it to about 150-100 BC, and hypothesised that it was on board a ship that sank en route from the Greek island of Rhodes to Rome, perhaps as part of an official loot. Technological artifacts of similar complexity did not appear until a thousand years later.

The mechanism is the oldest known scientific instrument. It has several accurate scales, and is essentially an analog computer made with gears. It is based on theories of astronomy and mathematics developed by Greek astronomers. Based on the shape of the Greek letters used in the manual of the instrument, it is estimated that it was constructed around 150 to 100 BC. The circumstances under which it came to be on the cargo ship are unclear. The ship is estimated to have sunk between 80 to 60 BC and was a Roman or Greek ship with cargo for Rome, perhaps part of official loot. It contained more than 100 statues similar to the ones the Romans took to Italy after their conquest of Greece. Consensus among scholars is that the mechanism itself was made in Greece. All the instructions of the mechanism are written in Greek. It is evident that they contain a manual with an astronomical, mechanical and geographical section. The name ISPANIA (ΙΣΠΑΝΙΑ, Spain in Greek) in these texts is the oldest reference to this country.

The device is remarkable for the level of miniaturization and complexity of its parts, which is comparable to that of 18th century clocks. It has over 30 gears, although some have suggested as many as 70 gears, with teeth formed through equilateral triangles. When a date was entered via a crank, the mechanism calculated the position of the Sun, Moon or other astronomical information such as the location of other planets. It is possible that the mechanism is based on heliocentric principles, rather than the then-dominant geocentric view espoused by Aristotle and others. The heliocentric view proposed by Aristarchus of Samos (310 BC - c. 230 BC) provides for the possibility of the existence of such a system at this time.