cometsweepandleonidsfly:Ancient Astronomy2000–1600 B.C.Excavated illegally in 1999 in Saxony-A
cometsweepandleonidsfly:Ancient Astronomy2000–1600 B.C.Excavated illegally in 1999 in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, the extraordinary Nebra Sky Disc is considered both the first known portable astronomical instrument and the oldest-known graphic depiction of celestial objects in human history.Made of a blue-green copper inset with lustrous gold, the twelve-inch-wide disc contains an arrangement of seven stars probably representing the Pleiades. They’re in between a crescent moon on the right and either the full moon or sun in the center. Two golden bands at the disc’s edge (one is missing) span eighty-two degrees, corresponding to the angle between sunset at the winter and summer solstices at the latitude where it was found. -- source link