Man was first terrified of the sky, before being fascinated by it. Thus, not only did he turn his head towards the celestial vault, but he also produced representations of it that have survived until today. This is particularly the case of the celestial disc of Nebra, currently considered to be the oldest known concrete representation of the cosmos in the world.
In July 1999, treasure hunters Henry Westphal and Mario Renner illegally excavated an area located in Nebra-sur-Unstrut (Germany) using metal detectors. They then discovered a bronze disc weighing 2 kg and about 30 cm in diameter, covered with a blue-green patina and gold symbols encrusted on its surface. During the excavation, they damage part of the disc and the site where it is located.
Knowing the illicit nature of their discovery, they sell the object on the Cologne black market. The disc will thus pass from owner to owner, until in 2001 its existence is made public. It was then that in 2002, state archaeologist Harald Meller seized the disc during a police search carried out in the city of Basel (Switzerland). By way of forgiveness, the two offenders lead the authorities to the site of their find.
The latter, a prehistoric site inhabited in the Neolithic period, located 60 km from Leipzig, surrounds the top of a hill in the forest of Ziegelroda, itself containing a thousand burial mounds dated to the same period. On site, archaeologists discovered many other objects, constituting a real cultural deposit. These, and the disk, are now kept in the Regional Museum of Prehistory in Hall (Germany).
The disc is a circular plate in which several gold symbols are embedded. The full circle is interpreted as the Sun or the full Moon. The crescent as the Moon or the Sun during an eclipse. The 32 points are stars; the group of 7 points certainly representing the constellation of the Pleiades.
The two arcs on each side cover an angle of 82°, indicating the position of the Sun (setting or rising) during the summer and winter solstices at the latitude of the place of discovery. An arc is also present at the bottom of the disc, representing either the Milky Way or a solar boat (or chariot) - that is to say a symbolic element linked to the course of the Sun. Finally, the circumference of the disc is made up of 39 holes whose meaning is still unknown.
The object could have had religious significance, but it is more likely an object with astronomical functionality and intended to perpetuate knowledge relating to the sky.
The angle covered by the two lateral arcs makes it possible to imagine a horizontal use of the disc in order to locate the positions of the Sun during the equinoxes. While the group of 7 points representing the Pleiades could have played an important role for sowing (the Pleiades accompanying the new Moon during this season).
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The 32 stars would also have significant significance, as the new Moon appeared alongside the Pleiades 32 days into the year. And 32 solar years correspond to 33 lunar years (32 star-points + the full circle), making it possible to establish a cycle punctuating seasonal activities according to the phases of the Moon. The Nebra disc would thus be a kind of astronomical encyclopedia concentrating all the knowledge of the European populations of the Bronze Age at that time.
The dating of the disc was carried out jointly with those of the other objects found alongside it, mainly swords, axes and bracelets. A carbon-14 analysis placed the age of the disc between 1600 and 1560 BC. While an X-ray fluorescence analysis determined the origin of the materials:the river Carnon (England) for the gold and the city of Bischofshofen (Austria) for copper. The disc is thus considered the oldest representation of the cosmos so far.
