Understanding the oscillatory motion of Saxon bowls: An experimental and theoretical approach

The Saxon bowl, a bowl with a hole at its base, has been used by ancient people as a timing device. Although the apparatus used is simple, the device is surprisingly accurate and robust to small deviations in initial conditions. This paper investigates the effect of oscillation on the submersion time of a Saxon bowl with factors such as the initial release conditions and drag coefficient. The results of numerical simulations are consistent with the robustness of this timing device. Additionally, an analytical model is presented that is reasonably consistent with the experimentally observed dependence of the sinking time on the hole radius and bowl mass.