A remarkable 2nd-century BCE bronze astronomical sphere has been recovered from a collapsed domestic structure in the Swat Valley, Pakistan. The artifact, belonging to the Indo-Greek Kingdom, features intricate engravings of the zodiac, planetary positions, and coordinate lines with bilingual Greek and Kharosthi inscriptions.
This 'Swat Sphere' is considered a significant precursor to complex mechanical devices like the Antikythera mechanism, demonstrating the high level of scientific and mathematical exchange between Mediterranean and South Asian cultures. It likely served as a portable navigational aid or a teaching tool for royal astronomers in the court of Menander I.