Found near Nebra, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany. It is dated to c. 1600 BCE, and is associated with the Bronze Age Unetice culture.
This artifact weighs 2.2 kg, and is inlaid with gold symbols. It is
thought that this disk was an astronomical instrument, and likely also
held religious significance. This find reconfirms the abilities and
astronomical knowledge of the people of the European Bronze Age, which
included the sun’s angle between its rising and setting points at summer
and winter solstice, and close observation of the sun’s course over the
year. The Nebra sky disk is the oldest known “portable instrument”
showing such measurements.
The disk appears to have been developed in four stages
1) On the right is the waxing moon, on the left the full moon, and between and above, the Pleiades.
2) Arcs are added on the horizon for the zones of the setting and rising
of the sun. Individual stars were shifted and/or covered.
3) The “sun boat” is added.
4) The disk in its current condition. A star and part of the full moon (or sun) was restored.
Euan MacKie suggests that the Nebra disk can be linked to Alexander
Thom’s reconstructed solar calendar from his analysis of standing stone
alignments in Britain.
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