THE ARCHIVE
The Open Files
Browse, search, and pull any file from the index. Every document below links to a primary source.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL — c. 100 BCEFILE II — ARTIFACTS
The Antikythera Mechanism
An ancient Greek hand-powered orrery — the world's oldest known analog computer, predicting astronomical positions and eclipses decades in advance.
greekastronomyancient-tech
CIPHER — UNSOLVEDFILE II — ARTIFACTS
The Voynich Manuscript
A 15th-century illustrated codex written in an unknown script that has resisted every cryptanalytic attempt for over 600 years.
ciphermedievalunsolved
OUT-OF-PLACE ARTIFACTFILE II — ARTIFACTS
The Baghdad Battery
Parthian-era clay jars containing copper cylinders and iron rods — possibly the world's first galvanic cells, predating Volta by 1,800 years.
mesopotamiaoopartsancient-tech
ARTIFACT — DISPUTEDFILE II — ARTIFACTS
The Saqqara Bird
A wooden bird-shaped artifact from c. 200 BCE Egypt whose aerodynamic profile some claim resembles a glider.
egyptooparts