Byzantine Sundial-Calendar

An ancient device remade with modern technology. It is a mostly 3D printed model of the byzantine sundial/calendar
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updated August 20, 2024

Description

PDF

Revised 8/18/24 Corrected instructions for Moon Gear.

This is an ancient device remade with modern technology. It is a mostly 3D printed model based on the paper titled “Gears from the Byzantines: A Portable Sundial with Calendrical Gearing” written by J. V. Field and M. T, Wright published in 1985 Annals Of Science, 42 (1985), 87-138. This paper is available online and is an interesting read. 

Only 4 pieces of the original device survive: the front face, the arm, the input gear and the moon phase/age gear. The rest is guessed at from what information is available. The front and back face engravings are based on the images from the Field and Wright paper. All of the text is in the original Byzantine Greek. I have included a guide to reading this text at the end of these instructions.

While laying out the moon phase/age wheel, I assumed that the empty circles were the locations of the new moon. This gives a very rough correlation to the actual moon phase that looks ok for the crescent moon phases but not the quarter or gibbous phases. This interpretation best fits the available evidence.

I have adapted their design to be compatible with 3D printing with the engravings being done by a diode laser engraver. My method of securing the various gears is almost certainly not how the original was done but it works well with 3d printing and is well balanced so that, when reading the time, the sundial hangs vertically.  

Because this is painted plastic, it will not handle frequent use with out showing wear. It is not highly durable. It is a way of making a nice display piece and an interesting way to model the technology inexpensively to those who already have a 3d printer and laser engraver. Everything is fully functional so you can experiment with how this device could have been used.


Complete build and use instructions are included in the attached PDF.

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The author marked this model as their own original creation.

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