Nebra Sky Disc

 

This is the Nebra Sky disc, believed to be the oldest surviving representation of the cosmos. It was buried 3,600 years ago and was illegally excavated by two metal detectorists in Germany and is now in the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle. It is crafted in bronze and gold which originated in Cornwall.

It is the most valuable artefact yet discovered from the Únětice civilization, a large group of early Bronze Age communities in central Europe - especially Bohemia, Bavaria, south-eastern Germany and western Poland - which is believed to have survived from 2,300BC to around1600 BC. 

The dots are thought to represent stars with the cluster being the Pleiades with the circle and crescent being the Sun and Moon.

There are various theories as the purpose of the disc - an astronomical clock, a religious symbol or a work of art.