Antikythera Mechanism

Hello. I am a very special box. My name is the Antikythera Mechanism. I am made of a shiny, strong metal called bronze. Inside, I have lots of little wheels that turn and spin. For a very, very long time, I took a long, quiet nap. I was sleeping deep, deep down at the bottom of the big blue sea. The boat I was on had a big oopsie and sank a long, long time ago, around the year 70 BCE. So I rested with the fish and the seaweed, dreaming of the stars. It was a very long, sleepy time for me.

Before my long nap in the sea, I had a bright beginning. I was made in a warm, sunny place called Greece. That was over two thousand years ago, between 150 BCE and 100 BCE. The people who made me were so smart. They loved to look up at the night sky. They saw the big, shiny sun in the daytime and the glowing moon at night. They saw all the twinkling stars, too. They made me to be a special sky clock. My little turning wheels inside me have tiny teeth, like a comb. They would spin and turn to show where the sun and moon would be. I helped them know when special holidays were coming. I was very proud to show them the secrets of the sky.

One day, I woke up. It was May 17th, 1901. Some friendly divers were looking for sponges in the sea, and they found me. At first, I didn't look like a special box. I was all covered in sea-stuff and looked like a bumpy green rock. They gently brought me up to the sunshine. When scientists started to clean me, their eyes got very wide. They were so surprised. They had never seen anything like me from so long, long ago. I am happy that people today are still learning all my secrets. I get to show everyone how clever and curious people have always been about our big, amazing, starry sky. I am a treasure from the past.