Nebra, Saxony-Anhalt, located in what was once East Germany, has some of the oldest known human settlements. In 1999, treasure hunters digging in a tomb located in a clearing near the summit of the Mittelberg uncovered one of the most important finds ever connected to the bronze age. In addition to tools, jewelry, and swords, they discovered a circular bronze plaque covered with strange markings.
This find was important for several reasons. While civilization was thriving in the area of Egypt and Mesopotamia, and people of the ancient East were studying and perfecting such things as architecture, astronomy, and philosophy, scientists who study the bronze age had seen no evidence of a similar cultural explosion in Europe. Most remnants of European bronze age society are far more primitive, geared towards swords and other weaponry in stead of scientific discoveries.
Archaeological Detective Work
Harald Meller, State Archaeologist of Saxony-Anhalt, heard the rumors of the highly unusual artifact. When a colleague brought him some pictures of the find, he decided to retrieve them, believing that they should rightfully be in his museum. With the help of the Swiss Police, he tracked down the grave robbers and recovered the disc, which black marketers were asking almost $500,000 for, as well as the other contents of the tomb.
Earliest Star Map
With the Star Disc, or the Sky Disc, as it is sometimes called, firmly in the possession of the Museum of Halle, where Meller is also the Head Archaeologist, scientists were finally able to study it. The disc was made of bronze, and covered with a picture of a crescent moon, a round circle that might have been the sun, and a group of circles that might have been stars.
In addition there were seven circles clustered together that might have been a constellation. Professor Wolfhard Schlosser, a prominent astronomer, was called in to check this strange constellation. He could not find anything like it, until he finally hit upon the answer – this was an ancient drawing of the Pleides.
The key to the mystery is the number of stars in the drawing of the Pleides. Today, thanks to modern telescopes, we know that the Pleides constellation is actually made up of eleven stars. However, the disc shows only seven – exactly the same as the oldest depictions of the Pleides, those found in the ancient East. By dating the bronze and gold, archaeologists made an amazing discovery – the Star Disc was 3600 years old, at least 100 years older than any other depiction of the night sky, older than any image coming out of the East.
German Astronomy or Egyptian Souvenir?
But because no civilization this advanced in astronomy had ever been found in Europe, many archeologists assumed that this was brought to Europe from the East by travelers or traders. By analyzing the copper and gold on the, however, scientists were able to verify that the disc was made in Europe and not brought from Egypt or Mesopotamia.
Looking closer at the disc, researchers began to recognize other parts of the picture. There is a curved line that is believed to represent what historians call a sun-ship, a prehistoric religious symbol that was thought to have originated in Egypt with the myth of the sun-god Ra. Golden bands on either side of the disc represented the solstices, with an angle that measures 82 degrees. It is only in that specific location, near the Mittelberg, in Germany, that the sun would rise and set at those particular angles on the solstices.
The Thirteenth Month
In ancient Greece, the positions of the Pleides were used to tell farmers when to do certain things. But with the Nebra star disc, it served not only as an almanac of sorts, but it might also have told the farmers when to add a thirteenth month to the year.
According to the February 27, 2006 article "Bronze Age Disc Deciphered," by the staff of the DW-World, astronomer Ralph Hansen believes that the "Mul-Apin" collection of 6th and 7th centuries B.C. from Babylonia give the final clue. Hansen thinks that these cuneiform writings contain a rule for calculating the time by using an image that looks extremely similar to the Star Disc. "According to the ancient Babylonian rule, a thirteenth month should only be added to the lunar calendar only when one sees the constellation of the moon and the Pleiades exactly as they appear on the Nebra sky disc."
The Star Disc is still being studied for clues that might uncover more about this sophisticated ancient civilization that existed in what was thought to have been a cultural wasteland in Europe. It is currently located in the Museum of Prehistory in Halle/Saale near Nebra, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany.
Beth Anderle - A retired US Army officer, Beth has been writing professionally and personally for many years but has only recently made the transition to ...
Join the Conversation