World's oldest computer is even older thought

Antikythera Mechanism, the world's oldest computer, is even 100 years older than scientists previously thought, say Argentinian researchers.

Discovered from a Roman cargo shipwreck off the Greek island of Antikythera, the bronze device was used to track the movements of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn.

The device provides a wealth of astronomical information and offers practically the only possibility for a close astronomical dating of the mechanism, the New York Times reported.

The device was discovered in a wooden box and consists of bronze dials, gears and cogs.

The complex device, made up of up to 40 bronze cogs and gears, was used in ancient times to track the cycles of the solar system.

On the back were two further dials displaying information about lunar cycles and eclipses.

The calculator would have been driven by a hand crank.

The findings were detailed in the journal Archive for History of Exact Sciences.