How old is this ancient vision of the stars?

It’s a tale of bronze, iron, looting and archaeological conflict.

The Nebra sky disc has been hailed as the oldest known representation of the cosmos. Now scientists are saying this ancient ornament that was discovered near Nebra, Germany, is a 1000 years younger than originally believed.

Researchers argue that the disc was most likely moved by looters to the Nebra site, and might not be associated with the other artifacts, or Nebra itself.

“We regard the disk as a single find, as a single artifact, because nothing fits to it in the surrounding area,” said Rudiger Krause, a professor of early European history at Goethe University Frankfurt.

— NYT: Becky Ferreira