Im not sure if this counts as Ancient, but it was for sure ahead of it's time...the "Aeolipile" a little steam-engine that was invented almost 2000 years before the industrial revolution...
It was never taken seriously and basically viewed as a toy.
I wonder what the world would look like today, if the industrial revolution started 2000 years earlier?
It wasn't really an engine, but the concept of steam turning into a rotational movement was right there,
but no one did anything about it for a couple of millenniums....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolipile
It was never taken seriously and basically viewed as a toy.
I wonder what the world would look like today, if the industrial revolution started 2000 years earlier?
It wasn't really an engine, but the concept of steam turning into a rotational movement was right there,
but no one did anything about it for a couple of millenniums....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeolipile