The Antikythera Mechanism Episode 11 - Inscribing The Back Plate - Part 1
Added 2022-05-08 01:59:57 +0000 UTCHi Folks,
Pack your sandals for the Hellenistic world, and be sure to bring the translator! We're off to learn about the Metonic calendar...
παρακαλώ απολαύστε!
Cheers,
Chris.
Direct links to the video -
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/707381101/62d3981d19
Youtube: https://youtu.be/iBRCL090PxA
-------------- Video Notes: ---------------
References:
http://hist.science.online.fr/antikythera/DOCS/Bulletin%20SIS%20December%202005%20Counting.pdf - Counting Months and Years: The Upper Back Dial of the Antikythera Mechanism1 M.T. Wright 2005
https://www.jstor.org/stable/20191159 - "IG" XII, 1 913: An Astronomical Inscription from Hellenistic Rhodes - Alexander Jones 2006
https://www.sciamvs.org/files/SCIAMVS_07_003-041_Jones.pdf The Keskintos Astronomical Inscription Text and Interpretations - Alexander Jones 2006
https://www.nature.com/articles/nature07130 - Calendars with Olympiad display and eclipse
prediction on the Antikythera Mechanism - Freeth et al 2008
https://www.atnf.csiro.au/people/atzioumi/Antikythera2012/presentations/X-ray_Tomography-Ramsey.pdf X-ray Tomography of the Antikythera Mechanism - Andrew Ramsey 2012
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00407-014-0145-5 On the epoch of the Antikythera mechanism and its eclipse predictor - Carman & Evans 2014
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0103275 Eclipse Prediction on the Ancient Greek Astronomical Calculating Machine Known as the Antikythera Mechanism - Freeth 2014
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0021828614537185 - The Antikythera Mechanism: the CONSTRUCTION of the METONIC POINTER and the back PLATE spirals - M. ANASTASIOU et al 2014
https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.ALMAGEST.5.110735 The Back Dial and Back Plate Inscriptions - Anastasiou et al 2016
https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.ALMAGEST.5.110736 - The Back Cover Inscription - Bitsakis/Jones 2016
http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2972/hesperia.86.1.0129 The Calendar on the Antikythera Mechanism and the Corinthian Family of Calendars – Iversen 2017
https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-018-0210-9 Revising the eclipse prediction scheme in the Antikythera mechanism - Freeth 2019
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00407-019-00229-9 The Back Plate Inscription and eclipse scheme of the Antikythera Mechanism revisited - Iversen/Jones 2019
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344329999_The_Antikythera_Mechanism_Rhodes_and_Epeiros "The Antikythera Mechanism, Rhodes, and Epeiros" - Iverson, P 2020
Lunisolar Calendar: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunisolar_calendar
Intercalation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intercalation_(timekeeping)
Intercalary Year: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leap_year
Metonic Cycle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metonic_cycle
Callippic Cycle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Callippic_cycle
Variability of ancient Greek Calendars: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek_calendars
Plutarch, on the start of the lunar month: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0063%3Achapter%3D25%3Asection%3D3
Comments
Watching through this and your previous projects multiple times always gives me ideas and inspiration. So a big thank you there Chris! I’m curious how the year 2010 or 2020 would be written?
Darren Coles
2023-05-19 12:59:30 +0000 UTCIt’s a joy watching you work. I’m always enthralled seeing you mold every piece to perfection. I’m patiently waiting for the next chapter, I can’t wait to see what you have in store for us.
Jose Martinez
2022-06-24 01:17:18 +0000 UTCcan't wait the episode two :) thanks for sharing your incredible work!
sztojanov
2022-06-02 04:32:42 +0000 UTCGiven the Rhodes connection, could this technical knowledge base be somehow linked to the Byzantine tech like the sundial? I would somehow feel sad if this capability back then was just lost, but if it somehow changed but continued I somehow would feel better.
Mark Kaehny
2022-05-20 00:56:06 +0000 UTCThank you mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-14 04:06:15 +0000 UTCBreathtaking skill, I would be so worried about making a mistake! Kudos to you Chris
Johnno Dee
2022-05-13 14:53:36 +0000 UTCThank you Nicholas - I used this one: https://youtu.be/Nksb2RCNsF0?t=923 - Cheers :)
Clickspring
2022-05-12 03:59:54 +0000 UTCWow, what dedication! It's really a thing of beauty. That layout fluid is working great. I rewatched the episode about all the different fluids/methods you tested and none of them seem to quite match. I guess you kept experimenting! What are you using now?
Nicholas Kvaltine
2022-05-12 01:57:12 +0000 UTCThanks Chris. I forgot all about this.
Chris Muncy
2022-05-11 11:27:54 +0000 UTCGood Morning Chris! Yes I do a weekly chat every Sunday 22:00UTC on the Clickspring Discord, do please come along and say G'day :) - (Invite link: https://discord.gg/ADKw4adv )
Clickspring
2022-05-11 06:40:29 +0000 UTCThanks very much Matt, so pleased that you're enjoying watching - Cheers :)
Clickspring
2022-05-11 06:37:34 +0000 UTCMerci Roberto!
Clickspring
2022-05-11 06:34:31 +0000 UTCThank you so much mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-11 06:33:30 +0000 UTCCheers mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-11 06:30:43 +0000 UTCHa ha! Thank you Kay :)
Clickspring
2022-05-11 06:29:33 +0000 UTCIt was about 4 months for the video, and I'd guess about 1 month of actual engraving work. Its hard to separate out the two activities because the setup for filming interrupts the work - Cheers :)
Clickspring
2022-05-11 06:29:06 +0000 UTCThanks Adam :)
Clickspring
2022-05-11 06:27:40 +0000 UTCGood morning from the Great State of Texas Chris. I have no words. Watching the video and listening to the narration of the work done was my sole focus. I am still amazed that you have not been backed by a major sponsor. But I digress as I have said all of this in the past, but it is still pertinent. So I have a question/thought/idea: Could you do a Q&A for your patreon supporters? Either have us submit questions or do a YouTube Live stream? I know that your time is incredibly valuable, but the advances that you have taken since the start of your videos is beyond amazing.
Chris Muncy
2022-05-10 12:55:53 +0000 UTCThis is not the first one of your videos that has choked me up, and I'm sure it won't be the last. Your philosophical connection with the maker of the Antikythera mechanism is astonishing, and moving. That said: I'm with the other inquiring minds who want to know /how many hours/ that took. In multiple dimensions you must have more patience than all the saints, combined.
Matt Walters
2022-05-10 03:31:44 +0000 UTCWell the greeks WERE into epic poetry!
Bruce Johnson
2022-05-09 23:32:34 +0000 UTCI am blown away by the amount of research and attention to detail that went into the making of this video. We're no longer speaking only of great craftsmanship, we're in an entirely different league. Chapeau !
Roberto Cioffi
2022-05-09 20:01:58 +0000 UTCI thought the gear train was the most impressive old school tech build I'd seen but this runs right a long side with ~10k hammer blows with a homemade steel engraver, let alone deciphering and understanding the language and symbols of a 2k yr. old 19 year calendar with adjusted months of variable days. All done in 20 min. of superb videography/editing and narration of how it all works. It boggles the mind that this was built 2k years ago by someone with your passion for learning, skills to achieve such a mechanical wonder and pass it forward for others to use and grow from. I am most grateful to have had this brought forward in my life and to have gotten to know you over these years! Thanks, My Friend!
PJ
2022-05-09 16:17:31 +0000 UTCFascinating and inspiring. Part of this journey has been how to put your headspace into the original artisans who not only conceived of such a device, but also how to manufacture one, and perhaps manufactured dozens if not hundreds!? Thanks, Chris, for taking us on this journey with you. It just goes to show every generation has vision and skill it could pass on to it's ancestors, if only we stopped and thought about it.
veritanuda
2022-05-09 08:00:09 +0000 UTCChris, amazing work as always! Your dedication to this task is so admirable. After you finished the mechanism, could you maybe look into time travel? Because I’d love to know what the craftsmen of the original mechanism think about this 😁
Kay Brinkmann
2022-05-09 05:45:56 +0000 UTCJust how many hours did it take you to inscribe that ring? I thought "that's a _lot_ of engraving" once you marked everything out.
Kaedenn
2022-05-09 00:21:34 +0000 UTCAmazing work. Always worth the wait when we see the quality of your workmanship.
Adam Knight
2022-05-09 00:10:44 +0000 UTCHaha, cryptic as always mate :-D
Stubbs
2022-05-08 22:44:38 +0000 UTCI can read slowly (with a lot of pronunciation mistakes), and my vocab is still fairly limited. Mostly terms and words directly related to the mechanism, research, literature etc. Its been one of the best parts of the project so far. An absolute joy learning the origins of so many words - Cheers :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:56:37 +0000 UTCI think 3? It holds an edge well - Cheers mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:51:07 +0000 UTCHa ha! Imagine the rhyme for this dial! Cheers mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:45:49 +0000 UTCCheers Phil :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:44:52 +0000 UTCThanks Andrezj :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:44:05 +0000 UTCCheers Mark :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:43:33 +0000 UTCThank you mate!
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:43:22 +0000 UTCI'm so pleased you're enjoying it Pete :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:43:12 +0000 UTCThank you René!
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:42:23 +0000 UTCI'd have said you're completely bonkers! Cheers mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:41:29 +0000 UTCWill definitely get a chance to go over this at some point. There is at least one repair in the original mechanism that I hope to cover at some point too - Cheers :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:39:47 +0000 UTCYes I will try to get as much published as I can, although its a slow process. The video was about 4 months to make, but the Metonic dial engraving only I'd guess to be a roughly 1 month task - Cheers :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:37:35 +0000 UTCCheers Joshua :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:35:28 +0000 UTCThank you mate!
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:35:15 +0000 UTCMuch more to come, its all intertwined now - Cheers :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 21:35:06 +0000 UTCChris, this was astounding to see, thank you so much for posting such amazing content in these videos. My wife and I were wondering, how much Greek did you learn as part of this project? You have an obvious command of the alphabet, general pronunciation, and numbering mechanics, but wonder how deep that goes. Cheers!
William Smith
2022-05-08 19:32:21 +0000 UTCInquiring minds want to know... How many times did you have to touch up the edge on the engraving tool? Possible units include months/sharpening. :-)
Glenn Trewitt
2022-05-08 19:29:52 +0000 UTCBeautiful work as usual, thanks for all the hard work to share it with us! After seeing the level of effort needed to keep track of how many days a month had back then I've got a new appreciation for the "thirty days hath September..." rhyme, haha.
Mike Michelizzi
2022-05-08 15:17:34 +0000 UTCThank you, Chris - another excellent video. The amount of research you do and your ability to translate that into workable production methods is staggering. Only one mechanism has ever been found. There must have been simpler precursors, yet we have no evidence there were any. The design of the Antikythera mechanism is remarkable and must have taken many years to perfect. Thank you for bringing the mechanism back to life and helping us understand how mechanically sophisticated the ancient Greeks were.
Phil Sydor
2022-05-08 11:06:35 +0000 UTCBrilliant explanation as ever. I've just started reading "A Brief History of Time Keeping"and this helps to put the different types of calendar into perspective. Fascinating but not entirely straightforward!! Keep up the good work.
Andrezj Cawley
2022-05-08 10:24:17 +0000 UTCAbsolutely amazing work and incredible patience - thanks for letting us come on your journey
Mark Teece
2022-05-08 09:49:17 +0000 UTCWow Chris that was some layout work and engraving! Well blown away... TFS, GB :)
Graeme Brumfitt
2022-05-08 09:44:47 +0000 UTCI'm not only totally blown away by the engineering skills of the ancient Greeks to put this much precision information into a mechanism but also by the dedication and intellect required to reverse engineer and recreate that information and engineering in the present day. Not to mention your skill, patience, knowledge, craftsmanship and dedication to keeping your building techniques as original as possible. Each video in this series astonishes me more and more. Thank you for taking the time to share your journey with us.
Pete Savage
2022-05-08 09:06:34 +0000 UTCAmazing work once again, well worth the wait!
René Wessels
2022-05-08 08:50:15 +0000 UTCI would guess you drill a small hole and put in a plug. Then file and sand it flush with surface and re-polish. We've seen him make rivets and pins disappear. So, should be possible.
MrTridac
2022-05-08 08:40:06 +0000 UTCI wonder what you would have told someone ten years ago, when they had suggested that you'll learn ancient Greek by 2022. That's AAA+ dedication, mate!
MrTridac
2022-05-08 08:19:47 +0000 UTCYour craftsmanship and explanation is amazing. Aside from how long it took you to engrave, what was done if you make a mistake or the tool slips. After all, they were human beings and not robots. It would be great if you could show how such a mishap is fixed. I can't imagine the whole metal plate being melted down again and starting over.
UdoWagner
2022-05-08 06:58:49 +0000 UTCJust wondering if you are planning on saving all gained knowlegde after this series is completed because this is amazing work and research. Just a quick question: how many hours do yo estimate it took to engrave this one dials? Cheers
Matts Koldewijn
2022-05-08 06:06:56 +0000 UTCSo excited this series is finally starting! Would love to hear a little more of your background. You are quite a unique and amazing craftsman. Looking forward to watching this series unfold.
Joshua Greer
2022-05-08 05:32:35 +0000 UTCYou're surely a master engraver now after all of that! Awesome update!
Grant Hullinger
2022-05-08 04:52:02 +0000 UTCG'day Chris! So happy to see another video on this series. Is all of your academic research completed to a point where you can continue the production of the rest of the mechanism?
Stubbs
2022-05-08 04:49:59 +0000 UTCMany thanks Lachlan :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 04:41:43 +0000 UTCThank you Clayton!
Clickspring
2022-05-08 04:41:31 +0000 UTCThere's value in taking some of these processes through to completion, in particular, proving out the 'on demand' martensitic cutting tool proposal - Cheers mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 04:40:59 +0000 UTCSo pleased you're enjoying it mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 04:40:25 +0000 UTCThank you mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 04:40:06 +0000 UTCThank youmate, much appreciated :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 04:39:52 +0000 UTCThank you Ralph :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 04:39:39 +0000 UTCThank you mate,and no probs at all. Will still be there when you get more time - Cheers :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 04:39:27 +0000 UTCThank you mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 04:38:53 +0000 UTCBeautiful work Chris, thanks for sharing.
Lachlan Elliott
2022-05-08 04:25:08 +0000 UTCThis is another stunning piece of work Chris! The sheer time and effort you put in continues to amaze us all!
Clayton Mellington
2022-05-08 04:04:06 +0000 UTCI can understand that you made, and used, the engraving tools as a proof of concept by why not use your you-beaut engraver to do the bulk of the work?
Jeff Armstrong
2022-05-08 03:50:27 +0000 UTCI was wondering that too.
Jeff Armstrong
2022-05-08 03:48:32 +0000 UTCAs always, just so humbled and inspired by the work you do. What a genuine treat to be able to take part in it, even just as an observer.
Kerry Benton
2022-05-08 03:33:24 +0000 UTCHi Chris, this is amazing. The detail is mind blowing. Can you post a video of you slipping or carving the wrong character just to make the rest of us mere mortals feel a little better.
rob reynolds
2022-05-08 03:29:17 +0000 UTCAlready been mentioned but the engraving is incredible. I've enjoyed the toolmaking that you do to hold true to how it is thought that the device was made. It adds another dimension to the project
Michael Lloyd
2022-05-08 03:21:04 +0000 UTCwho's that rapping tapping on my you-tube door. I believe that when it was first made, more than one craftsman did this. Once more Cris you have astound and humbled me.
Ralph McCoy
2022-05-08 03:17:44 +0000 UTCBeautiful as always, sorry i've been missing from the discord chat, life kicked back in.
Clifton Ballad
2022-05-08 03:07:59 +0000 UTCSuch impressive engraving from "simple" tools.
Andrew Smith
2022-05-08 03:06:22 +0000 UTCIts hard to separate out the video making, research etc from the work; this vid has been in progress for about 4 months. A rough guess for just the engraving would be about a month of decent 8 hour days - Cheers :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 02:45:11 +0000 UTCCheers Will, much appreciated :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 02:42:29 +0000 UTCThank you mate :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 02:42:12 +0000 UTCTerrific, so pleased to hear that James :)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 02:42:04 +0000 UTCCheers mate!
Clickspring
2022-05-08 02:41:46 +0000 UTCIncredible work on the engraving! If you don't mind sharing, how long did it actually take you?
Eric Logan
2022-05-08 02:41:45 +0000 UTC:)
Clickspring
2022-05-08 02:41:38 +0000 UTCWhat a spectacular commitment to this project you show here. I know you had been working on engraving for a couple years and your work here is incredible. Thank you.
Will Josephson
2022-05-08 02:35:42 +0000 UTCThe unbelievable amount of patience you have! Incredible.
naota3k
2022-05-08 02:33:14 +0000 UTCSpectacular workmanship! With the tools you've shown I can imagine some craftsman or group working to produce the original.
James Korman
2022-05-08 02:33:05 +0000 UTCLove it!
David Collins
2022-05-08 02:23:07 +0000 UTCYes!!
Stubbs
2022-05-08 02:14:04 +0000 UTC
