Decoding the Heavens

<p>In 1900 a group of sponge divers blown off course in the Mediterranean discovered an Ancient Greek shipwreck near the island of Antikythera dating from around 70 BC.<br><br>Lying unnoticed for months amongst their hard-won haul was what appeared to be a formless lump of corroded rock which turned out to be the most stunning scientific artefact we have from antiquity. For more than a century this 'Antikythera mechanism' - an ancient computer - puzzled academics but now more than 2000 years after the device was lost at sea scientists have pieced together its intricate workings.<br><br>In <i>Decoding the Heavens</i> Jo Marchant tells for the first time the story of the 100-year quest to understand the Antikythera mechanism. Along the way she unearths a diverse cast of remarkable characters - ranging from Archimedes to Jacques Cousteau - and explores the deep roots of modern technology not only in Ancient Greece the Islamic world and medieval Europe.</p>