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Nebra Disk / Sky Disc Of Nebra

The new mission patch for 2021 for ESA has been revealed. As you can tell, it is partly inspired by the Nebra sky disc.
 

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This New York Times article lays out the convoluted controversies surrounding the Nebra artifact. There are ongoing debates over its provenance, its age, its symbolism and even the attribution of its location prior to discovery.
A Bitter Archaeological Feud Over an Ancient Vision of the Cosmos

The Nebra sky disk, which has been called the oldest known depiction of astronomical phenomena, is a “very emotional object.”

The disk is small — just 12 inches in diameter — but it has loomed large in the minds of people across millenniums. Made of bronze, the artifact was inlaid in gold with an ancient vision of the cosmos by its crafters. Over generations, it was updated with new astronomical insights, until it was buried beneath land that would become the Federal Republic of Germany thousands of years later.

This is the Nebra sky disk, and nothing else like it has been found in European archaeology. Many archaeologists have declared it the oldest known representation of the heavens, and to Germans it is a beloved emblem of heritage that connects them with ancient sky watchers.

“The sky disk is a window to look into the minds of these people,” said Ernst Pernicka, a senior professor at Tübingen University and a director of the Curt-Engelhorn Center for Archaeometry in Mannheim.

Rupert Gebhard, the director of the Bavarian State Archaeological Collection in Munich, said, “It’s a very emotional object.”

But while Dr. Gebhard and Dr. Pernicka both acknowledge the disk’s past and present cultural resonance, they do not agree about much more. The two men and others are polarized by a bitter archaeological feud over the object’s true age. Many side with Dr. Pernicka in saying that the object is roughly 3,600 years old and comes from the Bronze Age. But Dr. Gebhard and some colleagues hold firm to their arguments that it must be about 1,000 years younger, saying it shares more with totems of the Iron Age. ...

Dr. Meller also led the excavation of the Nebra site and worked with other archaeologists to establish its Bronze Age provenance. In earlier years, some scientists said the object was a forgery. But consensus eventually emerged that the disk was made by ancient people, and Dr. Meller has promoted the interpretation of the object as the oldest known human expression of clear astronomical phenomena, such as the Pleiades star cluster. ...

Dr. Gebhard and Dr. Krause challenged that Bronze Age timeline in a study published last year in the journal Archäologische Informationen, saying that the object originated in the Iron Age, about 1,000 years later.

“There is a very unclear situation about the history of finding the disk,” Dr. Krause said. “This is the big problem we have to solve somehow.”

The two archaeologists argue that the disk must have been found at another location and reburied with unaffiliated artifacts at the Mittelberg site to make it appear to be from the Bronze Age, and therefore more valuable. They point in part to an account that one of the looters gave in a book, and claim that since they published their study in September other traders in the antiquities black market contacted them to affirm rumors that the disk was from another spot. ...

Dr. Pernicka, Dr. Meller and other colleagues responded with a rebuttal published in November in the journal Archaeologia Austriaca that reasserts the Bronze Age roots of the artifact.

To counter rumors that the disk came from another site, they first point out that both looters testified in court that they had unearthed the hoard, complete with the disk, at the Mittelberg site. ...

The scientific basis for the claim of Bronze Age origin rests on a small piece of birch bark, ensconced in the handle of one of the swords, which was carbon-dated to about 1,600 B.C. Over all, the hoard appears typical of the Bronze Age, which some experts think strengthens the case that the disk also hails from that era. ...

The teams also disagree on evidence provided by soil samples, the provenance of the disk’s metals and the meaning of the bewitching celestial scenes that decorate its face. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/19/science/nebra-sky-disk.html
 
World’s oldest map of the stars, and gold Bronze Age sun pendant, to shine at British Museum.

The world’s oldest map of the stars and a sun pendant, discovered by a detectorist and described as the most significant piece of Bronze Age gold ever found in Britain, will be displayed at the British Museum for the first time.

PRI_205050411-760x771.jpg

The Nebra Sky Disc, which is 3,600 years old and is the oldest surviving representation of the cosmos anywhere in the world, features in a special exhibition on Stonehenge which will open at the museum next February.


PRI_205050322-640x360.jpg

An extremely rare 3,000-year-old sun pendant, described by the British Museum as the most significant piece of Bronze Age gold ever found in Britain (Photo: British Museum)

Also on display will be an extremely rare 3,000-year-old gold sun pendant, one of the most remarkable surviving objects from Bronze Age Europe.

Discovered in May 2018 by metal detectorist and retired engineer Bob Greenaway, the pendant had been cushioned in the peaty soil of the Shropshire Marches for three millennia.

Measuring 3.6cm high and 4.7cm wide, one side shows a stylised sun – a significant addition to the art and iconography of Bronze Age Britain.

Solar symbolism was a key element of Bronze Age cosmology, but before the discovery of this pendant it was very rarely seen on objects found in Britain, the British Museum said.

https://inews.co.uk/news/worlds-oldest-map-stars-gold-bronze-age-sun-pendant-british-museum-1251682

maximus otter
 
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That Sun pendant is an amazing piece of work that compares well with some of the jewellery made today.
 
World’s oldest map of the stars, and gold Bronze Age sun pendant, to shine at British Museum.

The world’s oldest map of the stars and a sun pendant, discovered by a detectorist and described as the most significant piece of Bronze Age gold ever found in Britain, will be displayed at the British Museum for the first time.

PRI_205050411-760x771.jpg


The Nebra Sky Disc, which is 3,600 years old and is the oldest surviving representation of the cosmos anywhere in the world, features in a special exhibition on Stonehenge which will open at the museum next February.


PRI_205050322-640x360.jpg


An extremely rare 3,000-year-old sun pendant, described by the British Museum as the most significant piece of Bronze Age gold ever found in Britain (Photo: British Museum)

Also on display will be an extremely rare 3,000-year-old gold sun pendant, one of the most remarkable surviving objects from Bronze Age Europe.

Discovered in May 2018 by metal detectorist and retired engineer Bob Greenaway, the pendant had been cushioned in the peaty soil of the Shropshire Marches for three millennia.

Measuring 3.6cm high and 4.7cm wide, one side shows a stylised sun – a significant addition to the art and iconography of Bronze Age Britain.

Solar symbolism was a key element of Bronze Age cosmology, but before the discovery of this pendant it was very rarely seen on objects found in Britain, the British Museum said.

https://inews.co.uk/news/worlds-oldest-map-stars-gold-bronze-age-sun-pendant-british-museum-1251682

maximus otter
Fab fab fab, will start queueing now!!!! Wonder if they will do copies in the shop? I love the British Museum
 
Fab fab fab, will start queueing now!!!! Wonder if they will do copies in the shop? I love the British Museum
I have only been once, I spent almost the entire day in the Egyptian exhibition and had to run around just before it closed to see the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles, really need to spend a week there to see it all.
 
I have only been once, I spent almost the entire day in the Egyptian exhibition and had to run around just before it closed to see the Rosetta Stone and the Elgin Marbles, really need to spend a week there to see it all.
I totally agree! I journeyed down from the north a few years back for the Ice Age art exhibition. I thought it was brilliantly done, there were some unique and beautiful artefacts. It really fired my imagination, and stayed with me.

I bought a replica of a bison carving. It’s a treasured object.

Incidentally the artist who was commissioned to make the replicas that were for sale in the museum shop is a quirky fellow, Cobweb is his name. His website is worth a look:

https://www.eolithdesigns.co.uk/

Definitely check it out if you have an interest in the mythical, mystical, Cthulhu, and such.
 
I totally agree! I journeyed down from the north a few years back for the Ice Age art exhibition. I thought it was brilliantly done, there were some unique and beautiful artefacts. It really fired my imagination, and stayed with me.

I bought a replica of a bison carving. It’s a treasured object.

Incidentally the artist who was commissioned to make the replicas that were for sale in the museum shop is a quirky fellow, Cobweb is his name. His website is worth a look:

https://www.eolithdesigns.co.uk/

Definitely check it out if you have an interest in the mythical, mystical, Cthulhu, and such.
I saw that exhibition it was fascinating. Living with the Gods was excellent too. I think i went back about 4 times to keep saying hello to the Lion Man. Such fantastic and beautiful items from our deep deep past, it makes you realise how important creating things are to humans. Checking out the website - swimming reindeer coming home!
 
Outlook presenter Mobeen Azhar talks to Harald Meller.

'A little bit Indiana Jones'

Released On: 27 Apr 2022
Available for over a year

Archaeologist Harald Meller believes we underestimate the intelligence and culture of prehistoric people. Fascinated by the ancient world since childhood, he's now based at the Museum of Prehistory in Halle, Germany. In 2001, a chance visit to a colleague in Berlin resulted in him hearing about a unique ancient artefact that had come to light: a spellbindingly beautiful metal disc illustrated with depictions of the stars and the sun.

Looking at photos of the disc, Harald knew immediately that it was important - and that it could change everything we thought we knew about astronomy in the prehistoric era. There was just one snag: it was in the hands of the wrong people. Today on Outlook, he tells Mobeen Azhar about how he became the front man in a daring police operation to recover what would become known as the Nebra Sky Disc from the black market.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w3ct3y87
 
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