Spectacular archaeological find in Denmark

More and more Stone Age maps are turning up on Bornholm (photo: National Museum)

5,000-year-old map unearthed on Bornholm

Ray W. A mysterious stone found in a ditch on Bornholm by archaeology students during the summer has proven to be a 5,000 years old map.

According to the magazine Skalk, the stone was discovered during  archaeological excavation work at the Neolithic shrine Vasagård.

The stone has been studied by researchers at the National Museum of Denmark. Unlike previous and similar findings, archaeologist and senior researcher at the National Museum, Flemming Kaul, is reasonably certain that the stone does not show the sun and the sun’s rays, but displays the topographic details of a piece of nature on the island as it appeared between the years 2700 and 2900 BC.

Ritual stones

Kaul called the stone “without parallel”. In recent years, excavations at Vasagård have turned up several stones inscribed with rectangular patterns filled with different rows of lines and shading.

“Some of the lines may be reproductions of ears of corn or plants with leaves,” said Kaul.

“These are not accidental scratches,” said Kaul. “We see the stones as types of maps showing different kinds of fields.”

The recent find was not complete. It is made up of two pieces and one piece is still missing. Archaeologists believe the stones were used in Stone Age rituals. The Post


Actualización: Un mapa de piedra en el templo neolítico de Vasagård (Dinamarca)
Una roca con grabados de hace casi 5.000 años parece representar el paisaje de la isla en la que ha aparecido

La campaña de excavaciones del pasado verano en el templo neolítico de Vasagård proporcionó el hallazgo de una piedra con grabados algo diferente a las que ya habían aparecido en el yacimiento. Mientras que las anteriores representaban al sol y a los rayos solares, en esta ocasión, los investigadores del Museo Nacional de Dinamarca han llegado a la conclusión de que podría tratarse de un mapa, una representación de los distintos tipos de campos que había en el entorno del santuario, entre los años 2900 y 2700 a.C. Por ahora se trata de un mapa incompleto, ya que originalmente constaba de dos piezas de la que sólo se ha localizado una, por ahora...


Actualización: Ancient Scratched Stones: World's Earliest Maps or Magic Artifacts?
A set of broken stones covered with etchings of lines and squares, discovered at a 5,000-year-old sacred site in Denmark, may be some of humankind’s earliest maps, according to archaeologists.

The researchers think the inscribed stones are symbolic maps of local landscapes, and were perhaps used in rituals by Stone Age farmers who hoped to magically influence the sun and the fertility of their farmlands.
Fragments of 10 of the "map stones" or "landscape stones" were found in June,...