Compass - The Oldest Compass in the World

The compass is mentioned for the first time in the West in the year 1190 by the English scholar Alexander of Necum. Needham established that Europe acquired the compass from the Chinese. The earliest compasses used to kind of, well, for lack of a better description, looks like a ladle in which the handle serves as a needle or pointer that pointed to the south. By the 11th century, compasses were standard fear on the high seas.