Nebra

The Nebra Sky Disc (opposite) was reportedly deposited alongside a pair of swords (below), axes and spiral arm rings, as well as a single chisel (left). It is the dating of these objects that allows the burial of the Sky Disc to be assigned to

The Nebra Sky Disc: decoding a prehistoric vision of the cosmos

It was probably around 3,600 years ago that the earliest known depiction of the cosmos was buried in eastern Germany. By then, the Nebra Sky Disc had already served several roles. Repeatedly refashioning the artefact allowed it to keep pace with changing desires to express knowledge, belief, and power, as Neil Wilkin told Matthew Symonds.