Antikythera Mechanism
The antikythera mechanism is currently housed in the Greek National Archaeological Museum in Athens and is thought to be one of the most complicated antiques in existence. At the beginning of the 20th century, divers off the island of Antikythera came across this clocklike mechanism, which is thought to be at least 2,000 years old, in the wreckage of a cargo ship. The device was very thin and made of bronze. It was mounted in a wooden frame and had more than 2,000 characters inscribed all over it. Though nearly 95 percent of these have been deciphered by experts, there as not been a publication of the full text of the inscription.
Today it is believed that this instrument was a kind of mechanical analog computer used to calculate the movements of stars and planets in astronomy. It has been estimated that the antikythera mechanism was built around 87 B.C and was lost in 76 B.C. No one has any idea about why or how it came to be on that ill-fated cargo ship. The ship was Roman though the antikythera mechanism was developed in Greece. One theory suggests that the reason it came to be on the Roman ship could be because the instrument was among the spoils of war garnered by then Roman emperor Julius Caesar.
X-rays of the device have indicated that there are at least 30 different gears present in it. British historian Derek Price has done extensive research on what the antikythera mechanism may have been used for. It was not until 1959 that Price put forth the theory that the device was used in astronomy to make calculations and predictions. In 1974, Price presented a model of how the antikythera mechanism might have functioned. When past or future dates were entered into the device it calculated the astronomical information related to the Sun, Moon, and other planets.
Some of these findings have been confirmed by more recent researches undertaken by scholars and scientists. However, the full extent of the instrument’s functions still remains unknown.
-
EDIT: For more up to date information, please visit the following websites kindly pointed out by vilawolf.
1. http://www.antikythera-mechanism.gr
2. http://www.antikythera-mechanism.com
Prehistoric Bullet Holes
An Auroch is an large, extinct “buffalo like” animal. Many skeletons of this extinct type have been found in Europe.
What is remarkable about one in particular in the Moscow Museum of Palaeontology is that it has a bullet hole in its skull. The hole is round, without radial cracks that would result from slower projectiles like spears and arrows. The only known projectile that leaves this kind of smooth, round hole without radial cracks is a bullet because of its velocity.
I mention the auroch first because of a possible objection that can be raised. If it is indeed a bullet hole, perhaps the skeleton was shot many, many years after the animals’ death. The problem here is that the auroch survived the wound and lived long enough for unmistakable calcification to appear at the site of the injury.
How did an animal that became extinct supposedly thousands and thousands of years ago come by a “modern” bullet hole in its skull.
A similar round, clean, smooth hole without radial cracks was found in the skull of a “Neanderthal” man found in the early 1920’s in Rhodesia. The man supposedly died over 40,000 years ago.
The skull is currently at the British Museum. The skull was found more than fifty feet below ground level. In addition to the hole consistent only with that made by a bullet, the other side of the skull was blown out from the inside!
Now, a word about this photo. There aren’t that many Neanderthal skulls in “captivity”. I heard about this alleged bullet hole several years ago and I knew that it was a particular skull at the British Museum. I found this photo several years ago and I think it is important to say that the museum made no mention of the bullet hole at all.
It was simply one of the photos of the skull. I think that bears a little on its authenticity—it did not purport to be a picture of a skull with a bullet hole. That fact is something that the anthropologists apparently overlooked. Cuozzo, in his book, Buried Alive mentions actually getting his hands on the skull.
Of course, there are alternative explanations given for the hole, but it appears to have been the fatal wound and nothing we know of makes that kind of wound except a bullet—-or perhaps a small meteorite, presumably travelling horizontally to the ground.
On the one hand, you have Palaeontologists offering alternative scenarios for the hole, and on the other you have a German forensic scientist who examined the skull who states categorically that the wound could have come only from a bullet because of the velocity necessary to produce the characteristics of the wound. One assumes that the forensic scientist would have some experience with bullet holes that perhaps an anthropologist or a palaeontologist may not have.
Saint-Germain: The Immortal Count
IS IT POSSIBLE that a man can achieve immortality - to live forever? That is the startling claim of a historical figure known as Count de Saint-Germain. Records date his birth to the late 1600s, although some believe that his longevity reaches back to the time of Christ. He has appeared many times throughout history - even as recently as the 1970s - always appearing to be about 45 years old. He was known by many of the most famous figures of European history, including Casanova, Madame de Pampadour, Voltaire, King Louis XV, Catherine the Great, Anton Mesmer and others.
Who was this mysterious man? Are the stories of his immortality mere legend and folklore? Or is it possible that he really did discover the secret of defeating death?
The Chase Crypt of Barbados
Often called the case of the moving coffins, the Chase family crypt in Barbados was the location of an unusual haunting. During the years of 1812 to 1820, the six solid lead coffins were found thrown around the sealed solid rock crypt after people reported hearing strange sounds coming from the crypt. Each time the crypt was opened, the coffins put back to their original locations and sealed again.
This case was investigated by Lord Comberemere, the Governor of Barbados at
the time. In July 1819 Lord Comberemere conducted a test. The tomb was opened and the locations of the coffins were sketched (picture above). The crypt was then sealed and an additional slab of marble that took 4 men to lift was put in the entrance. In April of 1820, noise were again heard from the sealed crypt. The crypt was opened and the coffins were found moved about the inside of the crypt. After examining this, Lord Comberemere ordered all the coffins removed from the crypt and buried separately on the grounds of the cemetery of Christ Church.
