by InTrieste
In the rugged Triestine Karst, an astonishing discovery has emerged—an ancient celestial map etched onto a circular stone found at the Rupinpiccolo Castelliere. Measuring 50 cm in diameter and 30 cm thick, the stone, dating back to 1800-400 B.C., boasts 29 precise engravings aligning with constellations such as Scorpio, Orion, Pleiades, and Cassiopeia.
The find, reported in the world’s oldest active astronomy journal, Astronomische Nachrichten, was made by Paolo Molaro, an astronomer from INAF Trieste, and Federico Bernardini, an archaeologist from Ca’ Foscari University.
The Karst’s Rupinpiccolo Castelliere, a defensive structure used from 1800 to 400 B.C., harbored two massive circular stones, one believed to symbolize the Sun and the other potentially the oldest celestial map ever discovered. These findings were presented in an article last month by Molaro and Bernardini.
Around two years ago, Bernardini contacted Molaro, seeking an astronomer’s expertise. Bernardini believed he had identified the Scorpio constellation on a Karst stone. Initially skeptical due to the southern part of Scorpio being just above the horizon at their latitudes, Molaro’s doubt faded as he delved into the matter, eventually identifying Orion, Pleiades, and Cassiopeia on the stone.
The 29 signs on the stone, distributed irregularly, demonstrate a common orientation, indicating a single craftsman armed with basic tools. Notably, a bronze tool compatible with these signs was found nearby at the Elleri Castelliere. The signs, intentional and not the result of chance, were carved at least 2400 years ago, coinciding with the Rupinpiccolo Castelliere’s fortification era.
The signs’ alignment with celestial bodies is statistically significant, with a p-value much lower than 0.001, highlighting the precision in their execution. Even the 29th sign, deviating from the others, could represent a supernova or a “failed supernova,” suggesting the possibility of a black hole in that part of the sky today.
This discovery raises intriguing questions about the stone’s engraver, the Castelliere’s inhabitants, and whether this is the oldest celestial map ever found. The study also sheds light on the Nebra Sky Disk, dated around 1600 B.C., which, while symbolic, precedes faithful celestial maps from the first century B.C., derived from Hipparchus’s catalog.
The stone’s protohistoric dating implies a centuries-earlier interest in astronomy in Europe, marking a significant chapter in our understanding of ancient sky mapping.
