A 4,000-year-old rock slab provides the oldest map in Europe
The slate was discovered in 1900, and its studies did not begin until 2017. Archival
A recent study concluded that a Bronze Age rocky plate discovered in 1900 in western France is the oldest map in Europe.
Archaeologist Evan Payet, one of the authors of the study included in the Bulletin of the French Society for Prehistoric Studies, noted that the 4,000-year-old piece, known as the Saint-Bellec tablet, is engraved with marks representing part of the Montenegro region in western France.
"Today it is the oldest map of a region in Europe," he said, adding, "You can see on the panels carvings that at first glance seem incomprehensible."
You must look carefully to begin to understand how to organize and structure decorations, and how to connect them to each other through lines. ”
Archaeologist Paul de Chatillier discovered the tablet in an ancient cemetery in the Finistere region in 1900, before it was stored for decades on a property belonging to him.
It was necessary to wait until the year 2017 for the launch of scientific studies on the rock slab, which is 2.2 meters long, 1.5 meters wide, and weighs nearly a ton.
The researchers said the repeated motifs associated with lines represent an area 30 kilometers long and 21 kilometers wide, and may indicate ownership of the land that belonged to a prince or king.
"If we are able to decipher what these symbols mean, then we will know what the map represents," Bayier said, pointing out that the tablet raises many questions.
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