The image of the Sky Disc connects astronomical observations with mythical explanations. An abstract night sky forms the background. Its stars are carefully distributed so that no constellations are created, only one cluster is clearly highlighted: the Pleiades. Crescent moon and full moon or sun appear together. The golden horizon arcs are added, which trace the course of the sun between spring and autumn in the daytime sky. The boat travels between the horizons, perhaps carrying the moon or sun. It can move by day and night, but the curve indicates a prow pointing to the left, a journey through the underworld at night?
For thousands of years the opinion prevailed that a vault of heaven,to which the stars are attached, spans the Earth. Myths from different cultures tell about it. The Sky Disc can also be imagined as a dome. The human scope of view is limited by the horizons – the mythical threshold which carries the Sky Barge.
The popularity of amber, copper, tin, and gold at the end of the 3rd millennium BC led to extensive exchange networks for the coveted goods across Europe. Central Germany sat in the heart of Europe like a spider in the web of trade routes between north and south, east and west. In addition, one very exclusive product existed here: salt. Evidence of coarse ceramics in which salt was boiled shows that salt was produced in Halle already in the Early Bronze Age.
Most of the copper processed in central Germany during this period, however, comes from the eastern Alps. Numerous bronzes attest in their shapes and decorations to foreign influences from Ireland, Scandinavia, the Alpine region, and Hungary. At the same time, single central German metal objects have also been recorded in Scandinavia, northern Italy, and Hungary.
Credit: Image Copyright LDA Sachsen-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták (State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták)
The Nebra hoard is probably one of the scientifically most intensively researched archaeological finds altogether. The investigations began with the seizure in 2002 and continued until today. Many recognised research institutions are involved. The methods of analysis include the chemical and physical characterisation of the material by means of x-ray fluorescence analysis, synchrotron XRF, x-ray diffractometry, computer tomography, isotope/mass spectrometry, metallography, light and scanning electron microscopy, and much more.
The investigations concentrate on questions about manufacturing technique, the history of manufacture, questions concerning authenticity and origin of the objects, and their raw materials.
The Sky Disc is a work of smithery. The craftsperson who beat out the disc from a raw casting cake made of soft bronze to a size of 32 centimetres in diameter had to contend with difficulties. But the smith was resourceful, already knew technological ruses to make the unruly, tough metal, supple.
Furnished with metal inlays, the Nebra finds are almost unique in terms of technology in central Europe.
The Sky Disc was not created in one working step. It was repeatedly modified by different generations of craftspeople each leaving their own signature on the cult object. In fact, it was probably adapted again and again to the altered ritual needs and changing worldviews.
The Nebra hoard consists of approximately 4 kg of bronze and 50 g of gold: a considerable amount. Where did the material come from? Copper is found in the region, but research points to a different source and extensive long-distance trade. The trails lead to other European countries, to Austria and England.
Credit: Images Copyright LDA Sachsen-Anhalt, Klaus Pockrandt (State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Klaus Pockrandt)
Phase 1 – First the bronze disc is outfitted as the night sky with 32 stars, the full moon, and the crescent moon.
Phase 2 – Later, the attachment of the rim arcs covered two of the stars, another star is replaced so that it remains visible. This is plain to see because the particular gold arc is missing today. The two hidden stars stand out clearly on the x-ray image underneath the other arc.
Phase 3 – One sheet of metal differs significantly from the other gold appliqués in its colour and decoration: the feathered arc. It is wedged between the stars, whereas all other celestial bodies maintain a clear distance from the golden dots– this arc does not fit with the original picture.
The gold sheets of the stars, the peripheral rim arcs, and the grooved arc each have a different silver content. This illustrates that the gold objects of each phase were made of different gold. They may even have been made by different people.
Phase 4 – Later again, the disc was intended to be used differently than before, hence the rim was perforated. Attached to a support, the image of the sky was perhaps carried as a standard.
Phase 5 – All indications are that one horizon arc was removed in ancient times before the deposition.
The animation created in this room has the same purpose as the one done with the petroglyphs at the Sierra Nevada, with the difference that what Kalle Sandzen has been using as a reference is not a photograph of the object, but a stylized representation of the Nebra Sky disc, done by the State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt. Klaus Pockrandt wanted to show how possibly the appliques have been added in time, uncovering its various forms throughout history.
The animation should put ourselves in the shoes both of the observer and the makers, who wanted to look at and depict an action in the sky. It underlines the effort done throughout time, which I am interested in preserving.
