Directory
Ancient Inventions A to Z
Ancient people solved hard problems with brilliant ideas. This table lists inventions covered on Ancient Visionary, with approximate dates from archaeology and historical sources.
Fragments of the Antikythera mechanism in Athens: Joyofmuseums, CC BY-SA 4.0
| Invention | Where | When |
|---|---|---|
| Writing (cuneiform) | Mesopotamia | About 3400 to 3200 BCE |
| Planned city drainage | Indus Valley | About 2500 BCE |
| Large cut-stone building | Egypt | About 2670 BCE |
| Glass vessels | Egypt and Mesopotamia | About 1500 BCE |
| Qanat tunnels | Persia | First millennium BCE |
| Archimedes screw | Greek world | 3rd century BCE |
| Measuring Earth's size | Alexandria | About 240 BCE |
| Antikythera mechanism | Greek world | About 2nd to 1st century BCE |
| Glassblowing | Eastern Mediterranean | About 1st century BCE |
| Roman concrete | Rome | From about 2nd century BCE |
| Aeolipile (steam toy) | Roman Egypt | 1st century CE |
| Seismoscope | China | 132 CE |
| Zero as a number | Maya | By the 4th century CE |
| Hypocaust heating | Rome | 1st century BCE onward |
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Facts on this page were checked against these sources (updated Oct 12, 2026). Spot an error? Email hello@fireempireshop.com.