Nebra sky disc
The Nebra sky disc (, ) is a bronze disc of around diameter and a weight of , 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 stars, axiomatically interpreted as the Pleiades). Two golden arcs along the sides are thought to mark the angle between the solstices. Another arc at the bottom with internal parallel lines is usually interpreted as a solar boat with numerous oars, though some authors have also suggested that it may represent a rainbow, the Aurora Borealis, a comet, or a sickle. The disc was found buried on the Mittelberg hill near Nebra in Germany. It is dated by archaeologists to and attributed to the Early Bronze Age Unetice culture. Various scientific analyses of the disc, the items found with the disc, and the find spot have confirmed the Early Bronze Age dating. The Nebra sky disc features the oldest concrete depiction of astronomical phenomena 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." Discovery The disc, together with two bronze swords, two sets of remains of axes, a chisel, and fragments of spiral armbands were discovered in 1999 by Henry Westphal and Mario Renner while they were treasure-hunting with a metal detector. The detectorists were operating without a license and knew their activity constituted looting and was illegal. Archaeological artefacts are the property of the state in Saxony-Anhalt. They damaged the disc with their spade and destroyed parts of the site. The next day, Westphal and Renner sold the entire hoard for 31,000 DM to a dealer in Cologne. The hoard changed hands, probably several times, within Germany during the next two years, being sold for up to a million DM. By 2001 knowledge of its existence had become public. In February 2002 the state archaeologist, Harald Meller, acquired the disc in a police-led sting operation in Basel from a couple who had put it on the black market for 700,000 DM. The original finders were eventually traced. In a plea bargain, they led police and archaeologists to the discovery site. Archaeologists opened a dig at the site and uncovered evidence that supported the looters' claims. There were traces of bronze artefacts in the ground, and the soil at the site matched soil samples found clinging to the artefacts. The disc and its accompanying finds are held by the State Museum of Prehistory in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The two looters received sentences of four months and ten months, respectively, from a Naumburg court in September 2003. They appealed, but the Appeals Court raised their sentences to six and twelve months, respectively. The discovery site is a prehistoric enclosure encircling the top of a elevation in the Ziegelroda Forest, known as Mittelberg ("central hill"), some west of Leipzig. The surrounding