In 2013, an object brought to the USSR from Germany several decades ago was removed from a dusty chest into the light of day. He was found in a heap of scrap metal, and the owner had long since died. The current owners of the object made an attempt to establish its origin with the help of German specialists. However, sending letters to several of the largest museums in Germany did not produce any results either. Here's everything we know about the subject.
It was probably taken as a trophy after the end of the Great Patriotic War, and unofficially. This assumption explains some of the nuances of the difficulties that arose during its identification, but in no way sheds light on the origin and, most importantly, the purpose of the artifact. From the moment of the first publication devoted to the mysterious mechanism, in the magazine "Voennoye Obozreniye", no one has yet been able to answer the questions about what it is and why it was created.
None of the versions, in my opinion, is able to provide a reasonable explanation, and this circumstance leads to serious reflections on the state of affairs in historical science as a whole. If we are not able to solve such a simple problem, then the assumption involuntarily suggests itself that a similar situation is not unique, and there are other artifacts of the past, the history of which has nothing to do with reality.
Modern experts find it difficult even to name the subject of study, which is one single paradox. Each detail does not explain, but only raises new questions for researchers.
One of the parts bears the following marks: “Bosch, Germany Imported D'Allemagne and WD Rotodyn”. The total length of the mysterious object is approximately 60 cm, and it weighs about 10 kilograms. The basis of the object can be considered a relatively large cone-shaped part, which is a rifled barrel connected to a kind of breech with a bolt.
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The latter, when unlocking the barrel, is retracted to the left. For locking, the original lock is used, consisting of a retainer, a spring and a screw. The shutter block also houses a device that can be considered a trigger mechanism. Firing (if it was provided at all) is possible only with single shots. After each shot, it is required to remove the sleeve and load a new cartridge, and then cock the firing mechanism.
Ammunition is an interesting and unusual feature of the object. The existing copy, apparently, was supposed to use the 7.62 x 51 mm NATO cartridge. However, this ammunition was created only in the late forties, and the unusual weapon looks like it was created in the first decades of the last century. Nevertheless, this discrepancy can be explained by the fact that a bushing was included with the mysterious object, which allowed loading a cartridge of 7.62 x 51 mm into the existing barrel.
It is possible that this detail was made much later than the weapon itself. Probably, someone conducted experiments and tried to adapt the old development to a relatively new cartridge. Unfortunately, there is no information about these attempts either. Along with the object, the original ammunition was found, assembled from metal and plastic parts. Only the base and the muzzle of the sleeve are made of metal. The main part is made of plastic. In addition, in the muzzle of the sleeve there is a kind of bullet, also made of plastic. The reasons for this design of the cartridge are not completely clear, but the use of plastic may hint at the purpose of the entire system. It is possible that the object was not intended to fire live ammunition.
The first thought that comes into the minds of most of those who first get acquainted with the information about the mechanism is something like this:
Crazy "Kulibin" connected together what was at hand in the garage, standing by the dump: he connected parts from a steam engine and an old carbine with a "dynamo" from a bicycle, and made the rest of the parts on his own in a homemade way.
Confusingly, Kulibin cared about aesthetics and tried to make his creation elegant and attractive. True, he chose not the most successful method, but, as you know, there is no dispute about tastes.
But rather original versions are also being expressed. I like the assumption of a famous researcher who writes under the pseudonym pro_vladimir. Here is his opinion:
“This is a chemical laser. Before the First World War, they were made in piece copies. The flash was produced by a chemical reaction, such as an oxyhydrogen gas or a type of manual plasmagun. Flash of a second. The effective range is slightly farther than the flamethrower. Potentially 1-2 kilometers.
It's good to blow up tankers, make holes in ships and blow up locomotives: there is a hole in the tank - it gets carried away.
Chemical cartridge. That clever clip cuts and squeezes part of the flask, and the reaction begins. Then the cartridge is pushed briskly."
The beautiful version, however, is unlikely. It is unlikely that such a technology could be reproduced in artisanal conditions. If it were a combat laser, then it would be entirely manufactured in an industrial way.
More photos in the article "Weapon, starter or decorative object: a mysterious device from Germany" on the site "Eye of the Planet".
According to other versions, it could be a prototype of a construction pistol, a “pumped” riveter, a signal flare gun, a self-ignited torch device (burner), a horn, a safety valve and even an “artpecal” - for fans of steampunk, assembled from real parts from different eras and for different purposes … Well, and, of course, how much without the intervention of aliens and chrononauts.
But be that as it may, the mystery has not been solved to this day. All this is very entertaining in itself, but I am concerned about a question of a different nature. How many more such artifacts are hiding from the public eye, which is exposed to "sensations" like the "Antikythera Mechanism" to divert their eyes.
Let me remind you that in the fall of 1900, Captain Kontos anchored off Antikythera Island in the hope of collecting more sea sponges. The diver Elias Stadiatis, having submerged 60 meters under the water, discovered there many clay and bronze amphoras, as well as ancient statues. A mechanism of unknown purpose was also discovered there.
The right to clear the find, called the "Antikythera Mechanism", was granted in the late 1960s by the Englishman Price. Over the course of several years that have gone into cleaning and translating the text, it turned out that this is the most ancient astronomical device.
Price, having examined the mechanism using X-rays, found that it was made on the island of Rhodes in the first century BC. Its purpose is to forecast the position of the Sun, Moon and planets in the sky, as well as the ability to view their movements.
Parts of the movement were made of thin bronze sheets, made very elegantly, and most importantly, perfectly calculated. Seven fragments of a fairly large size and about seventy small parts of the device have survived.
For more than half a century, world science has allegedly been struggling to solve the "terrible mystery". In fact, I think scientists understand everything perfectly, but information about the "oldest computer" sells very well. Who will cut the hen that lays the golden eggs with his own hands? Moreover, the disclosure of the truth will break the established historical paradigm about the "ancient Greeks."
And it's just enough just to admit that the "ancient Greek galley", on board of which the Antikythera "computer" was found, sank not "a hundred thousand miles" years ago, but quite recently, when lathes already appeared, allowing the creation of threaded connections and mechanisms of gear step transmissions.
Often everything is decided by chance: if the artifact falls into the hands of the merchants, they will squeeze every penny of profit out of it, without being embarrassed by the most mind-blowing hypotheses; and if the find turns out to be in the hands of inquisitive and disinterested researchers, then only a narrow circle of specialists who are not ready to pay money for the "cranberry" about the Annunaki and time travelers will know about it.
Author: kadykchanskiy