Antikythera Mechanism — Athens
Ancient Greek device · National Archaeological Museum, Athens
Photo: Joyofmuseums / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), as published on Street Art Utopia.
The Antikythera mechanism is an ancient Greek geared device that calculated and displayed astronomical information. Sponge divers found the shipwreck that held it off the island of Antikythera around 1900, and the pieces were recovered in 1901. Archaeologist Valerios Stais spotted a gear wheel in a corroded lump in 1902, and the 82 fragments are kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Source Source Source Reported
Standing Jul 2026: Euronews reported on 20 July 2026 that the fragments are kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. Source Checked
💡 4 things to know
- Sponge divers found the wreckAccording to Wikipedia, sponge divers found the ancient wreck off Antikythera in 1900; Euronews dates the find to 1901. Source Source Conflicting
- A gear in a lump of bronzeIn 1902 archaeologist Valerios Stais noticed a gear wheel in one of the corroded pieces. Source Reported
- 82 fragments survivePhysicist Derek de Solla Price began studying the 82 recovered fragments in 1959, Euronews reports. Source Reported
- A calculator for the skyBritannica describes it as an ancient Greek mechanical device used to calculate and display information about astronomical phenomena. Source Checked
📍 Where it is
National Archaeological Museum, Athens, Greece. The wreck lies off the island of Antikythera. Source Source Checked
The map opens at the museum in Athens.
🗓️ Sightings
- 1901
Pieces recovered from the Antikythera wreck
- 1902
Valerios Stais notices a gear in a corroded lump
- 20179 Jul
Fragments photographed in Athens (camera date, from file metadata)
- 202112 Mar
UCL team publishes a new reconstruction of the cosmos display
- 202620 Jul
Euronews: the mechanism is kept at the museum in Athens
Green stamps mark dated photographs; amber stamps mark records or reports. Publication dates are not camera dates.
🗞️ In the sources
The Antikythera mechanism: ancient Greek computer that predicted eclipses
“The artefact is now kept in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens”
✅ The facts
- Wreck found
- 1900 (Wikipedia, Max Planck project) or 1901 (Euronews). We lean to 1900 for the find and 1901 for the recovery, as Britannica dates the recovery to 1901. Source Source Source Conflicting
🔗 Related
- Found by Accident (11 Photos) — Street Art Utopia, where the photo above appeared.
- All Artwork Files
All sources & image credits
- Britannica
- Wikipedia — Reference article
- Euronews — The Antikythera mechanism: ancient Greek computer that predicted eclipses — 20 July 2026
- Max Planck Institute for the History of Science — Max Planck Institute project page on the Antikythera mechanism
- Wikimedia Commons — Photograph of the corroded bronze fragments of the Antikythera mechanism on display in Athens
- UCL news on a new reconstruction of the mechanism’s cosmos display
- Hero image: Joyofmuseums / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), as published on Street Art Utopia; a 16:9 share image was made from it with blurred sides.
Last checked: 8 November 2026 · How we verify art