Regarding leaving gears out. If you had spent so much time building a machine   
   and were transporting it via sea during the archaic age, would you not take   
   spare parts? The idea that somebody smart enough to achieve such mathematical   
   and mechanical feats    
   at that time would fail to consider the potential for repairs and maintenance   
   strikes me as a little, well, out of character. It is not unreasonable to   
   consider that some of the parts recovered were either intended for   
   maintenance, or even to alter the    
   function of the device for another, perhaps similar purpose.    
      
   Lateral yes, but logical none-the-less. Certainly more logical than the   
   rejection of the notion that the vessel would have carried additional parts,   
   I'd say.   
      
   Regarding additional gears. Ancient sets are rarely recovered in a complete   
   state, especially when lost at sea. I'd be more sceptical if there were no   
   parts missing. Tho me, this only serves to reinforce the argument in favour of   
   its legitimacy.   
      
   Best wishes.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)