page_title: Nebra sky disk
hierarchical_section_title: Nebra sky disk
caption_attribution_description: English: The Nebra Sky disk; Mittelberg near Nebra (Germany), ca. 1600 BC.; Special exhibition "Beyond the Horizon - Space and Knowledge in the Old World cultures" at the Pergamon Museum (22.06 -. 30.09.2012) Deutsch: Himmelsscheibe von Nebra; Mittelberg nahe Nebra (Deutschland), um 1600 v. Chr.; Sonderausstellung "Jenseits des Horizonts. Raum und Wissen in den Kulturen der Alten Welt" im Pergamon Museum (22.06. - 30.09.2012). Das Objekt bildet 32 kleine Scheibchen ab, von denen sieben zu einer kleinen Gruppe zusammengestellt sind, die als Plejaden gedeutet werden. Daneben ist das Symbol eines jungen Mondes neben einer vollen Scheibe erkennbar. In der vervollständigten Rekonstruktion gibt es zwei helle Kreissegmente am Rande und eine symbolische Schiffsbarke. Die Scheibchen stehen für die Auf- und Untergangssterne, der Sichelmond für den ersten sichtbaren Mond des Monatsanfangs nach Neumond und die Vollscheibe für den Vollmond. Die Bögen des Scheibenrands kennzeichnen mit ihrem Winkel von 82 bis 83 Grad diejenigen Stellen am Horizont, an denen die Sonne während des Jahres auf- und untergeht. Damit symbolisiert die Scheibe die während eines ganzen Jahres auftretenden astronomischen Zeichen und das Wissen um die jährlichen kalendarischen Zusammenhänge.
context_page_description: The Nebra sky disk is a bronze disk of around 30 centimeters diameter and a weight of 2.2 kilograms, having a blue-green patina and inlaid with gold symbols. These symbols are interpreted generally as the Sun or full moon, a lunar crescent, and stars. Two golden arcs along the sides, interpreted to mark the angle between the solstices, were added later. A final addition was another arc at the bottom surrounded with multiple strokes.
  The disk is attributed to a site in present-day Germany near Nebra, Saxony-Anhalt, and dated by Archaeological association to c. 1600 BC. Researchers suggest the disk is an artifact of the Bronze Age Unetice culture.
  The style in which the disk is executed was unlike any artistic style then known from the period, with the result that the object was initially suspected of being a forgery, but is now widely accepted as authentic.
  The Nebra sky disk features the oldest concrete depiction of the cosmos yet known from anywhere in the world. In June 2013 it was included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register and termed "one of the most important archaeological finds of the twentieth century."
context_section_description: The Nebra sky disk is a bronze disk of around 30 centimeters (11 ³⁄₄ in) diameter and a weight of 2.2 kilograms (4.9 lb), having a blue-green patina and inlaid with gold symbols. These symbols are interpreted generally as the Sun or full moon, a lunar crescent, and stars (including a cluster of seven interpreted as the Pleiades). Two golden arcs along the sides, interpreted to mark the angle between the solstices, were added later. A final addition was another arc at the bottom surrounded with multiple strokes (of uncertain meaning, variously interpreted as a Solar Barge with numerous oars, the Milky Way, or a rainbow).
  The disk is attributed to a site in present-day Germany near Nebra, Saxony-Anhalt, and dated by Archaeological association to c. 1600 BC. Researchers suggest the disk is an artifact of the Bronze Age Unetice culture.
  The style in which the disk is executed was unlike any artistic style then known from the period, with the result that the object was initially suspected of being a forgery, but is now widely accepted as authentic.
  The Nebra sky disk features the oldest concrete depiction of the cosmos yet known from anywhere in the world. In June 2013 it was included in the UNESCO Memory of the World Register and termed "one of the most important archaeological finds of the twentieth century."
caption: Another photograph, at the Pergamon Museum
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