Stais initially studied
medicine but later switched to
archaeology, obtaining his Doctorate from the
University of Halle (Saale) in 1885. He wrote a lot on archaeological matters, published several papers, mainly in
Archeologiki Efimeris (), and many books. Valerios Stais also became the first to study the
Antikythera mechanism from the lumps of archaeological material retrieved from a
wreck found near the coast of Antikythera in 1900. He identified that one of the pieces had a gear wheel embedded in it. ==References==