Levi Hutchins of Concord, New Hampshire, invented the first American alarm clock in 1787. An oscillating mechanism marks the passage of time, and an escapement counts the beats, in a mechanical clock. The mechanical clock is less accurate than astronomical timekeeping methods, but it can be used at any time of day or night, even in inclement weather. The 'Waterdriven Spherical Birds'-Eye-View Map of the Heavens' was the name of the world's first mechanical clock. It was designed as an astronomical instrument that also worked like a clock by Yi Xing, a Buddhist mathematician, and monk, in 725 AD. Tower clocks erected in the region spanning northern Italy to southern Germany between 1270 and 1300 are regarded to be the world's earliest mechanical clocks. These clocks did not have dials or hands but instead used bells to tell the time. Mechanical alarm clocks with user-adjustable settings have been used since the 15th century in Europe. The dial of these early alarm clocks had a ring of holes that were set by inserting a pin into the proper hole.