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Exhibitions archive

The World of the Nebra Sky Disc – New Horizons: themes

The Realm of the Sky Disc

The pyramids in Egypt, the magnificent Minoan palaces in the Aegean – testimonies to early states in the 2nd millennium BC we are quite familiar with. But how did people live at the same time in central Europe? New research in diverse disciplines now brings this era to life.

Was there also a dynasty in central Germany whose rulers were buried in barrows which could be seen from far away? Did they command armies whose weapons we find in great bronze treasures? Did the population live in peaceful times, without castles and fortifications? And did adventurous people travel to distant countries to make contacts and bring new knowledge back home with them?

The State Museum of Prehistory invites you on a journey into the ›Realm of the Sky Disc‹!

The gold arm ring from the princely tomb of Leubingen (Thuringia). In the barrow, excavated in 1877, a bronze chisel and a small stone anvil were found in addition to further grave goods. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták.
The gold arm ring from the princely tomb of Leubingen (Thuringia). In the barrow, excavated in 1877, a bronze chisel and a small stone anvil were found in addition to further grave goods. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták.
Dieskau hoard II. Found in 1904 in the vicinity of the Bornhöck – the largest of all Early Bronze Age princely barrows. The extremely rich hoard includes 27 rings, 2 arm spirals, 3 halberds, 11 halberd blades, 3 axes, 23 spiral coils, 106 amber beads. Its total weight is almost 16 kilograms. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták.
Dieskau hoard II. Found in 1904 in the vicinity of the Bornhöck – the largest of all Early Bronze Age princely barrows. The extremely rich hoard includes 27 rings, 2 arm spirals, 3 halberds, 11 halberd blades, 3 axes, 23 spiral coils, 106 amber beads. Its total weight is almost 16 kilograms. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták.
The remnants of a necklace of amber beads from Dieskau hoard II. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták.
The remnants of a necklace of amber beads from Dieskau hoard II. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták.
With a diameter of 65 metres and a height of 13 metres, the Bornhöck (near Dieskau) is the largest known princely tomb of the Early Bronze Age. The remains of the barrow were completely excavated and examined between 2014 and 2017. The stone covering of the central burial chamber is clearly visible in the centre of the photograph. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Thomas Koiki.
With a diameter of 65 metres and a height of 13 metres, the Bornhöck (near Dieskau) is the largest known princely tomb of the Early Bronze Age. The remains of the barrow were completely excavated and examined between 2014 and 2017. The stone covering of the central burial chamber is clearly visible in the centre of the photograph. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Thomas Koiki.
The core of the burial mound consisted of a mighty stone mantle, under which the wooden burial chamber was located. It was at least 2.5 metres high and measured approximately 6 x 3.5 metres. The wood of the construction elements had completely decayed, but could be identified by imprints in the ground. The burial chamber was robbed already in prehistoric times. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Thomas Koiki.
The core of the burial mound consisted of a mighty stone mantle, under which the wooden burial chamber was located. It was at least 2.5 metres high and measured approximately 6 x 3.5 metres. The wood of the construction elements had completely decayed, but could be identified by imprints in the ground. The burial chamber was robbed already in prehistoric times. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Thomas Koiki.

Secret knowledge

The Nebra Sky Disc (UNESCO Memory of the World) is an outstanding find from the Early Bronze Age – the oldest concrete depiction of the sky in human history. At the same time, however, secret knowledge is also encoded in its image: Whoever owned the Sky Disc and knew how to read it could set the annual calendar for their society, had power over time.

The reconstructed ring sanctuary at Pömmelte in winter. It was a central place from the end of the Stone Age to the beginning of the Bronze Age of supra-regional importance. The dating, ground plan, and meaning correspond to the contemporaneous layout of Stonehenge, which in its early phases was probably also made of wood. © SLK, Salzlandmuseum, Stephan Knopf.
The reconstructed ring sanctuary at Pömmelte in winter. It was a central place from the end of the Stone Age to the beginning of the Bronze Age of supra-regional importance. The dating, ground plan, and meaning correspond to the contemporaneous layout of Stonehenge, which in its early phases was probably also made of wood. © SLK, Salzlandmuseum, Stephan Knopf.
At first glance inconspicuous, grinding stones found in large numbers, here a specimen from Pömmelte, provide clues as to the size and economic power of the societies at the Stone Age to Bronze Age transition. In the barrow of the Bornhöck prince's tomb, as many grinding stones were found as would be needed for the daily provisioning of several thousand people with flour for bread. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, José Antonio Soldevilla Gonzales.
At first glance inconspicuous, grinding stones found in large numbers, here a specimen from Pömmelte, provide clues as to the size and economic power of the societies at the Stone Age to Bronze Age transition. In the barrow of the Bornhöck prince's tomb, as many grinding stones were found as would be needed for the daily provisioning of several thousand people with flour for bread. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, José Antonio Soldevilla Gonzales.
Like a clasp, the Pömmelte Ring Sanctuary connects the people of the terminal Stone Age with those of the incipient Bronze Age. It is a supra-regionally important, central place – embedded in a ritual landscape, as otherwise only known at this time at Stonehenge and Avebury. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták.
Like a clasp, the Pömmelte Ring Sanctuary connects the people of the terminal Stone Age with those of the incipient Bronze Age. It is a supra-regionally important, central place – embedded in a ritual landscape, as otherwise only known at this time at Stonehenge and Avebury. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták.

New Horizons

How did this knowledge reach our region?

The Sky Disc itself is a testimony to the extensive networks of the Bronze Age: The mythological notion of a sun ship probably comes from ancient Egypt, the knowledge about Pleiades constellations from the Middle East. The ring sanctuary of Pömmelte near Magdeburg, discovered only a few years ago, corresponds in its dimensions exactly to the contemporaneous Stonehenge in South England.

But not only ideas travelled far: the copper ore of the disc comes from Austria, the gold from Cornwall. Amber from the Baltic Sea has been found in Saxony-Anhalt, Greece, and even Mesopotamia.

The miniature gold boats of Nors, Denmark. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták.
The miniature gold boats of Nors, Denmark. © State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, Juraj Lipták.
The miniature standard with a sun disc made of amber, Jutland, Denmark. @ Nationalmuseet, Juraj Lipták.
The miniature standard with a sun disc made of amber, Jutland, Denmark. @ Nationalmuseet, Juraj Lipták.
The stone circles of Stonehenge. World Heritage site and the only complex which in dating, ground plan, and meaning compares with the ring sanctuary of Pömmelte. © Frederic Vincent.
The stone circles of Stonehenge. World Heritage site and the only complex which in dating, ground plan, and meaning compares with the ring sanctuary of Pömmelte. © Frederic Vincent.
The so-called Clandon Lozenge made of gold with further associated finds. They all derive from a tumulus of the same name near Dorchester, Great Britain. A similar piece comes from the ›Bush Barrow‹ burial mound near Stonehenge. © Dorset County.
The so-called Clandon Lozenge made of gold with further associated finds. They all derive from a tumulus of the same name near Dorchester, Great Britain. A similar piece comes from the ›Bush Barrow‹ burial mound near Stonehenge. © Dorset County.
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