Pre-heraldry on the Sangerhausen Disc, The Armiger's News 25: 2, 1. 9, 2003.

2025

Explores meanings attached to the iconography, astro-archaeology, and folklore of what UNESCO considers "one of the most important archaeological finds of the 20th century"

Scientific Reports 14, 2024

The world heritage object Nebra Sky Disc is one of the best investigated archaeological objects. The origin of the raw materials it is made of is well known. However, its manufacturing process was not completely clear. Investigations were made in order to clarify the steps of manufacturing from the initial casting to the finished disc using the latest metallographic techniques. Therefore, a small piece from the outer part of the disc was investigated and compared with a replica. Both were prepared regarding the metallographic procedure. Microstructural analysis was made by optical microscopy on a colour etched surface, EDS and electron backscatter diffraction. For the investigation of mechanical properties microhardness measurements were made. It could be found that the Nebra Sky Disc was manufactured from a flat cast followed by hot forging process. During the forging process the disc was heated and forged for approximately 10 times.

THE NEBELIVKA DISC. A Sacred Relic of the Trypillian temple (4,000 BC). Kyiv. 2024. 76 p., 2024

Our planet, like the history of mankind, holds countless mysteries and enigmas. Some were created by humans, others by Nature itself, but in one way or another, these issues have always worried people around the world. Today, we learn about one of the extraordinary mysteries of the Trypillia civilization, created by our distant ancestors thousands of years ago. Born more than 6,000 years ago, a unique monument of calendar significance – the "Nebelivka disc," has concealed many secrets until now. This archaeological artifact of the majestic Trypillia civilization was discovered in 2012 during excavations of the Trypillia temple near the village of Nebelivka (Kirovohrad region, Ukraine). The "Nebelivka disc," lying since time immemorial beneath the ruins of the sacred complex, possibly represented only a small part of the sacred inventions reflecting the original unified system of beliefs about the Universe, now referred to in the modern world as the "Cosmological Religion," "Cosmic Religion," or the "Religion of Trypillia." Over the years since the discovery of the ceramic "Disc," several researchers have tried to decipher its meaning, but so far none of the interpretations has received universal recognition. Researcher O. Zavalii proposed his own scientifically based version of the temple relic's decipherment, which has been recognized at both international and national levels. In his opinion, this monument of ancient culture is indisputable evidence that the people of the Trypillia era possessed astronomical knowledge and ancient technologies, which were a prerequisite for the creation of a "ceramic computer" for accurate calendar calculation. Perhaps it is the key to the secrets of lost ancient technologies that enabled the Trypillians to construct astonishing temples integrated into the structure of astronomical events and the mystery of the solar year. It is possible that the "Nebelivka disc" serves as an argument in favor of the fact that our scientific knowledge originated in that distant civilization, whose heirs we are. The "Disc" from the Trypillia temple space deserves our attention because it represents the oldest calendrical message in human history, addressed to the entire world for all time. Therefore, it is not surprising that today, at least six millennia after its creation, this message has become a sacred communication in times of greatest turmoil.

Archäologische Informationen, 2021

The article critically comments on the essay Archaeologia Austriaca. 104, 89-122, 104, 89-122. It underlines the necessity of further open research on the Nebra Sky Disk, since the results obtained so far are contradictory and in many areas not comprehensible.

Archäologische Informationen, 2020

Until now the Nebra sky disk was deemed to be from the Early Bronze Age and therefore the world’s oldest depiction of the cosmos. Archaeologists from Goethe University Frankfurt and Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich have now reanalysed diverse data on the reconstruction of the discovery site and surrounding circumstances of the find. Their findings are that the disk must be dated in the Iron Age, making it about 1,000 years younger than previously assumed. This makes all previous astronomical interpretations obsolete.

Beiträge zur Astronomiegeschichte, Band 13, Acta Historica Astronomiae, 2016

The significance of the Nuremberg maps, an extraordinary pair of celestial hemispheres, made in 1503, is shown to exceed the usual aim of celestial cartography to map the stars. The makers of the Nuremberg maps aspired to present the whole universe and expressed this through the decorations surrounding the northern and southern hemispheres. The meaning of the decorations becomes transparent when they are considered in terms of the macrocosm and microcosm.

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 213 (2020) 138-148.

Archäologische Informationen, 2021

The “Nebra Sky Disk” was reportedly discovered in 1999 as part of a hoard during an illegal excavation. In elaborate and long-lasting investigations an attempt was made to verify both the reported site location and the affiliation of the objects independently from the information given by the finders. Yet, a critical examination of the published results by the authors does not allow the conclusion that the site investigated in a re-excavation is correct, nor that the ensemble itself fulfils the criteria of a closed find (hoard). On the contrary, according to the excavation findings the ensemble could not have been in situ at the site named. The scientific examination of the objects contradicts rather than confirm their belonging together. If the disk is considered – as required by these facts – as a single object, it cannot be integrated into the Early Bronze Age motif world. Instead, a chronological embedment in the first millennium BC seems most likely. On the basis of this overal...

PAST , 2018

In a paper published in 1905, Reginald Smith, then Assistant Keeper of the Department of British & Mediaeval Antiquities, drew attention to the similarities between the recently discovered Trundholm sun ‘chariot’ found in 1902, and a disc from the British Museum’s collection. The comparison was quickly forgotten and has rarely – if ever – been repeated, despite the growing fame of the sun discs in the wake of the discovery of the Nebra sky disc in Saxony- Anhalt, Germany. The purpose of this short contribution is to reassess Smith’s suggestion following a century of neglect. To read the paper, please follow the link : http://www.prehistoricsociety.org/files/PAST_90_for_web.pdf