The Antikythera mechanism (icon or ˌ ) is an ancient mechanical computer

Analog computer

An analog computer is a form of computer that uses the continuously-changeable aspects of physical phenomena such as electrical, mechanical, or hydraulic quantities to model the problem being solved...

 designed to calculate astronomical

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 positions. It was recovered in 1900–1901 from the Antikythera wreck

Antikythera wreck

The Antikythera wreck is a shipwreck from the 1st or 2nd century BC. It was discovered by sponge divers off Point Glyphadia on the Greek island Antikythera in the early 1900s...

. Its significance and complexity were not understood until decades later. Its time of construction is now estimated between 150 and 100 BC. Technological artifacts of similar complexity and workmanship did not reappear in Europe until the 14th century, when mechanical astronomical clock

Astronomical clock

An astronomical clock is a clock with special mechanisms and dials to display astronomical information, such as the relative positions of the sun, moon, zodiacal constellations, and sometimes major planets.-Definition:...

s were built in Europe.

Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water...

 visited the wreck for the last time in 1978, but found no additional remains of the Antikythera mechanism.