Mysteries Department
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Questions

Research questions are the building block of our platform of scientific inquiry. Key questions are the ones at the heart of a mystery; every other question helps answer one of them.

4questions2answered0with no evidence yet
All mysteries
Nebra Sky Disc
Nebra Sky Disc2 key questions · 4 questions · 2 answered
Open the mystery
QuestionWhere it stands
KeyWhat does the image on the disc represent?
Most likelyThe disc shows the night sky with the Pleiades and served as a memory aid and leap rule for reconciling lunar…
KeyWhen was the disc made and buried?
Most likelyThe disc was made in the Early Bronze Age, perhaps 1800 to 1700 BC, used and altered for generations, and…
How was the disc made?
AnsweredIt was cast as a flat preform and hot-forged in about ten cycles of heating and hammering, then annealed.
Where did the copper, tin and gold come from?
AnsweredCopper from the Mitterberg in the Salzburg Alps; tin and gold from Cornwall, the gold from the Carnon River.