The Reconstruction of the Findings

The Nebra Sky Disc, along with other objects, belongs to an Early Bronze Age hoard which treasure hunters illegally wrested from the ground in 1999. The reconstruction of the find situation and the context is thus based both on the statements of the treasure hunters and joint inspections of the site with the original finder Henry W. and on extensive archaeological follow-up investigations conducted at the site.

The Context Situation

The Sky Disc was deposited upright in a small pit along with seven other objects. It was reportedly found just a few centimetres below the surface, as confirmed by the total depth of the treasure hunters’ hole of about 60 cm. How much earth has been eroded by wind and weather since the Bronze Age cannot be determined exactly, but a certain amount of erosion is to be assumed. The bedrock probably prevented any deeper burial. Despite the shallowness of the pit, the Sky Disc was placed upright – this obviously was of importance.

The disc was leaning against a rock that is part of the natural geology of the site. The treasure hunters’ hole was larger than the original feature. The Bronze Age pit was completely destroyed by the looters’ activity. During the follow-up excavations archaeologists thus recorded the backfilled treasure hunters’ hole which contained sherds from a water bottle that the looters had disposed of on site. Also hacking marks from their digging tool could be documented.

At the time of the follow-up excavation, the pit had not been refilled for long. The dark, humous soil still contained many organic inclusions, such as small twigs or leaves that got into the pit from the forest floor in the immediate vicinity. They would not have been preserved if buried in the ground for a longer time.

Confirmation of the Place of Discovery

Several soil samples were taken from the filling of the pit. Chemical analyses revealed significantly increased concentrations of copper and gold, which can be attributed to the prolonged burial of metal objects.

A particularly high concentration of these two trace elements was measured below the looters’ hole. Since it is a naturally formed layer, the high copper and gold concentrations prove that metal objects have lain in the ground for a longer period of time. As a result, copper and gold precipitates entered the natural ground.

Criminologists compared the soil adhering to the Sky Disc with soil samples from the Mittelberg hill. The analysis showed that both samples matched one another. Thus it was proven that the Sky Disc was actually buried on the Mittelberg.
The soil adherences from one sword and one axe were compared with further samples. The sword comes just as surely as the disc from the Mittelberg. In the case of the axe the affiliation is less clear, but still probable – and with regard to the soil adherences there is no indication that the axe could not have come from the Mittelberg.

Marks from the Fire-fighter’s Pickaxe

To wrest the finds from the ground, the looters used a modified fire-fighter’s pickaxe and brute force. The Sky Disc was badly damaged by this improper recovery. Traces of the axe blade could also be verified in the follow-up excavations in the area of the looters’ hole. The pickaxe was confiscated by the investigators. The comparison reveals: the size and shape of the pickaxe blade exactly match the marks at the site.

The Finds

In addition to the Sky Disc, seven other objects make up the Nebra hoard:

• two bronze swords decorated with gold
• two bronze flanged axes
• one bronze chisel
• two bronze arm spirals

Explore the hoard and objects interactively! Additional information on the archaeological finds is stored behind each click point.