Reconstructing the Antikythera Mechanism s Central Front dial parts Division and Placement of the Zodiac Dial ring

TL;DR

This paper reconstructs the central front dial of the Antikythera Mechanism, detailing the design, zodiac divisions, and their astronomical significance based on imaging and analysis, revealing how its functionality was achieved with minimal assumptions.

Contribution

The study provides a detailed reconstruction of the Antikythera Mechanism's central front dial, including the zodiac ring's division and its astronomical implications, using imaging and minimal hypotheses.

Findings

Reconstructed the four parts of the central front dial in bronze.

Correlated zodiac ring divisions with astronomical seasons.

Represented solar anomaly and seasons through unequal zodiac divisions.

Abstract

In this paper we analyze, discuss and present the design of the Antikythera Mechanism s central front parts. Based on the aligned and of same scale visual images of Fragment C front/back face and the X-ray CT scacs, we designed and reconstructed in bronze, the four independent parts comprising the central front dial. We then correlated the zodiac dial ring with 365 equal subdivisions-days and we investigated the number of days per astronomical season and per zodiac month. Then, we adopted a specific number of equal subdivisions/days per each zodiac month and we engraved these on the bronze zodiac month ring. The different number of days per zodiac month created 12 unequal epicenter angles on the zodiac dial ring and therefore the solar anomaly and the unequal time span of the astronomical seasons were well represented on the Antikythera Mechanism. In this way, the functionality of the central front dial of the Mechanism was achieved by adopting the minimum number of hypotheses.