I would not describe it as a re-creation. Although it does the same thing
(we think), and I asusem the overall gear ratios are thus the same, the
acutal deisng is totally different (it has to me, to fit into the
constraints imposed by a limited number of tooh counts in Lego gears).
It's a neat hack, sure, but I don't really see how it relates to a
2000-year-old device.
-tony