The Ancient Torquetum

Are you a fan of Warehouse 13? Or maybe The Librarians? If you love ancient artifacts, write an artifact story! Here’s an interesting one for you to consider. It had a rather mundane purpose by today’s standards, but it has all the right ingredients: it’s kind of mysterious looking, looks good in gold and silver, has moving parts, and is used in astronomy. What more do you need to turn it into something magical?

Question: What is a Torquetum? Answer: A torquetum was a complex and sophisticated Medieval astronomical instrument used to measure the three sets of astronomical coordinates: horizon, equatorial, and ecliptic. As a mechanical tool, the torquetum could also interconvert between these sets of coordinates without the use of calculations and to demonstrate the relationships of these coordinate […]

Source: Torquetum: Sophisticated Medieval Astronomical Instrument | MessageToEagle.com