Nebra Sky Disc

The Nebra Sky Disc was made around 1600 BC during the Central European Bronze Age, placing it roughly 3,600 years old. Metal associated with the disc, including bronze axes and swords found at the burial site, helps archaeologists date it to the Early Bronze Age Únětice culture.

The disc shows a crescent moon, a full moon or sun, and a cluster of seven stars believed to represent the Pleiades star cluster. It is widely considered one of the earliest known depictions of astronomical phenomena in human history.

The disc was discovered in 1999 by illegal treasure hunters using metal detectors on the Mittelberg hill near Nebra, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It was recovered in 2002 through a police sting operation, and the looters were prosecuted, after which the disc was authenticated and placed in the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle.

Extensive analysis by archaeometallurgists confirmed the disc's authenticity based on the corrosion patterns, copper isotope signatures, and the bronze composition consistent with Bronze Age central European metallurgy. While some skeptics initially questioned it, the mainstream archaeological consensus accepts it as a genuine Bronze Age artifact.