An astronomy calculator created by the ancient Greeks has been rebuilt as a Lego replica. The fully-functional replica can still perform original functions such as predicting eclipses, as seen in a Nature Video movie that has gone viral.

The Antikythera Mechanism originated more than 2,100 years ago as a complex gearwheel system that can display the date, positions of the sun and moon, lunar phases, a 19-year calendar, and a 223-month eclipse prediction dial. Divers retrieved the device in 1901 from the shipwreck of a 1st-century B.C. Roman merchant ship.

In 2008, researchers also found inscriptions on the device that represent names linked to the first Olympic Games celebrated by the ancient Greek city-states.


Anyone wondering just how the Nature Publishing Group people made their Lego creation can also check out this video that condenses 40 days of hard work into just one minute.