New Dating of the Nebra Sky Disc

October 9, 2020 1:47 AM

Until now the Nebra sky disk was deemed to be from the Early Bronze Age and therefore the world's oldest depiction of the cosmos. Archaeologists from Goethe University Frankfurt and Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich have now reanalysed diverse data on the reconstruction of the discovery site and surrounding circumstances of the find. Their findings are that the disk must be dated in the Iron Age, making it about 1,000 years younger than previously assumed. This makes all previous astronomical interpretations obsolete.

New dating of Nebra sky disk

The Nebra Sky Disk came into the hands of archaeologists only after a lapse of ca. four years after its discovery. The history of its discovery was reconstructed according to information supplied by the first buyer and the finders of the object as well as to observations of traces of damage on the disc. At the same time, prior to the initial contact with the finders, an excavation was carried out at The ''Nebra Sky Disc'' was reportedly discovered in 1999 as part of a hoard during an illegal excavation. In elaborate and
long-lasting investigations an attempt was made to verify both the reported site location and the affiliation of the objects independently from the information given by the finders. Yet, a critical examination of the published results by the authors does not allow the conclusion that the site investigated in a re-excavation is correct, nor that the ensemble itself fulfils the criteria of a closed find (hoard). On the contrary, according to the excavation findings the ensemble could not have been in situ at the site named. The scientific examination of the objects contradicts rather than confirm their belonging together. If the disk is considered – as required by these facts – as a single object, it cannot be integrated into the Early Bronze Age motif world. Instead, a chronological embedment in the first millennium BC seems most likely. On the basis of this overall assessment, all further conclusions and interpretations of the cultural context and the meaning of the Nebra disk that have been made so far will have to be subjected to a critical discussion.

Critical comments on the find complex of the so-called Nebra Sky Disk

posted by y2karl (3 comments total)

Previously
posted by y2karl at 2:01 AM on October 9, 2020

I was only familiar with the Nebra Sky Disk as an early-game puzzle in La-Mulana 1. I didn't know the real thing had such a goofy face.
posted by one for the books at 8:33 AM on October 9, 2020 [1 favorite]

As someone from Nebraska, I was very confused when I first started reading this.
posted by IAmDrWorm at 10:33 AM on October 10, 2020 [1 favorite]