Nortius Maximus sent me this link to a video at Nature magazine, describing a machine from ancient Greece, named after the location in which it was found. Mike Daley's points me to an in-depth conventional text/graphics article at Impearls.

Its exact functions had been a bit puzzling, but modern imaging and X-rays recently came to the rescue. Turns out that it's a sophisticated mechanical clock that had additional functions like keeping track of the Olympic Games and phases of the moon, in addition to its standard operation. The whole thing is truly a mechanical marvel, and when you see the CGI images of the device in operation based on recent imaging techniques, you'll be stunned to imagine something like this coming from ancient Greece 2,000 years ago. But apparently, it did.

The Antikythera Mechanism is a true testament to the power of human ingenuity, and the video is definitely worth watching.