. ▁This ▁mechanism ▁was ▁built ▁around ▁ 1 st ▁century ▁BC . ▁ ▁Pho en icia ▁and ▁Car th age ▁The ▁Pho en icians ▁and ▁their ▁success ors , ▁the ▁Car th agini ans , ▁were ▁particularly ▁ade pt ▁sail ors ▁and ▁learned ▁to ▁voyage ▁further ▁and ▁further ▁away ▁from ▁the ▁coast ▁in ▁order ▁to ▁reach ▁destin ations ▁faster . ▁ ▁One ▁tool ▁that ▁helped ▁them ▁was ▁the ▁sound ing ▁weight . ▁ ▁This ▁tool ▁was ▁bell ▁sh aped , ▁made ▁from ▁stone ▁or ▁lead , ▁with ▁t allow ▁inside ▁attached ▁to ▁a ▁very ▁long ▁ro pe . ▁ ▁When ▁out ▁to ▁sea , ▁sail ors ▁could ▁lower ▁the ▁sound ing ▁weight ▁in ▁order ▁to ▁determine ▁how ▁deep ▁the ▁waters ▁were , ▁and ▁therefore ▁estimate ▁how ▁far ▁they ▁were ▁from ▁land . ▁ ▁Also , ▁the ▁t allow ▁picked ▁up ▁sed iments ▁from ▁the ▁bottom ▁which ▁expert ▁sail ors ▁could ▁examine ▁to ▁determine ▁exactly ▁where ▁they ▁were . ▁ ▁The ▁Car th agin ian ▁H anno ▁the ▁N avigator ▁is ▁known ▁to ▁have ▁sa iled ▁through ▁the ▁Stra it ▁of ▁Gib ral tar ▁c . ▁ 5 0 0 ▁BC ▁and ▁expl ored ▁the ▁Atlantic ▁coast ▁of ▁Africa . ▁ ▁There ▁is ▁general ▁cons ensus ▁that ▁the ▁expedition ▁reached ▁at ▁least ▁as ▁far ▁as ▁Sen eg al . ▁ ▁There ▁is ▁a ▁lack ▁of ▁agreement ▁whether ▁the ▁fur th est ▁limit ▁of ▁H anno ' s ▁expl or ations ▁was ▁Mount ▁Cam ero on ▁or ▁Guinea ' s ▁ 8 9 0 -