A chunk of rock, adorned with mysterious markings which have remained largely unstudied for 4,000 years, has emerged as a exceptional “treasure map” for archaeologists. This historical artifact, generally known as the Saint-Belec slab, is now guiding researchers on a quest to uncover hidden archaeological websites all through north-western France.

Studying Europe’s Oldest Map

In 2021, researchers declared the Saint-Belec slab as Europe’s oldest map, sparking a fervor of curiosity. Since then, archaeologists have diligently labored to decipher its enigmatic etchings, aiming to not solely date the slab but additionally rediscover long-lost monuments.

Yvan Pailler, a professor on the College of Western Brittany (UBO), commented on this distinctive strategy, saying, “Utilizing the map to attempt to discover archaeological websites is a good strategy. We by no means work like that.”, reported AFP.

Historically, archaeologists depend on refined radar tools, aerial images, or serendipitous discoveries throughout city building initiatives to unearth historical websites. Nevertheless, the Saint-Belec slab has opened a brand new path.

“It is a treasure map,” exclaimed Pailler. However this treasure hunt has solely simply begun.

The traditional map delineates an space spanning roughly 18.5 by 13 miles (30 by 21 kilometers). Clement Nicolas, Pailler’s colleague from the CNRS analysis institute, defined that so as to learn the map, they need to survey your complete territory and cross-reference the markings on the slab. This monumental job may span over 15 years!

Nicolas and Pailler have been a part of the crew that rediscovered the slab in 2014, though it was initially uncovered in 1900 by a neighborhood historian who failed to know its significance. In latest weeks, French consultants, together with colleagues from numerous establishments in France and overseas, have been working tirelessly to decode its mysteries.

“Some engraved symbols made sense straight away,” shared Pailler. Within the slab’s rugged patterns, they discerned the rivers and mountains of Roudouallec, a area in Brittany positioned roughly 310 miles (500 kilometers) west of Paris.

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The primary {photograph} of the Saint-Bélec slab, when it was discovered by Paul du Chatellier in Leuhan, Finistere, Brittany, France in 1900. (Inrap)

Researchers scanned the slab and in contrast it with fashionable maps, revealing an approximate 80 p.c match. Nevertheless, they’re nonetheless within the technique of figuring out all of the geometric symbols and their related legends.

The slab options quite a few tiny hollows that researchers imagine may level to burial mounds, historical dwellings, or geological deposits. Deciphering the which means of those hollows might unlock a trove of latest discoveries.

Overhead view of the Saint-Bélec slab. This ornate slab types a homogeneous composition with masking engravings, similar in method and magnificence, forming an inseparable entire. Additionally be aware the repetition of patterns (cups, geometric shapes), linked collectively by a community of traces. These parts enable, in keeping with C. Delano Smith, to acknowledge a cartographic doc. ( Denis Glicksman / Inrap)

The Saint-Belec Slab: Discovered, Acquired, Misplaced and Rediscovered

The Saint-Bélec slab was first found in an excavation by Paul du Chatellier in Leuhan, Brittany, France in 1900, inside an early Bronze Age barrow or grave mound.

It was moved to a personal assortment in the identical 12 months it was discovered. After which, in 1924, it was acquired by the French Musée des Antiquités Nationales, which is in the present day generally known as the Museum of Nationwide Archaeology.

Until the Nineties, the Saint-Bélec slab lay forgotten in a distinct segment within the fortress moat at Mr. du Chatellier’s house, the Chateau de Kernuz, which is about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Leuhan (the place the slab was unearthed).

In 2014, the slab was rediscovered within the chateau. And in 2017, the cooperative analysis crew started their examination of the slab and revealed their findings in 2021.

The findings proved to be extremely necessary. The Saint-Belec slab was conclusively interpreted because the oldest found cartographical illustration of a recognized territory in Europe. Particularly, this was the territory and valley across the River Odet, in Western France. BU post-doctoral researcher Dr. Clement Nicolas, told the BBC that this was “in all probability the oldest map of a territory that has been recognized.”

Photogrammetric protection, geo-locating and high-resolution 3D surveys confirmed to 80% accuracy for an 18-mile (29km)  stretch alongside the Odet and its close by valley, which is the world lined by the traditional stone map.

On the time, Dr. Nicolas said:

“There are a number of such maps carved in stone everywhere in the world. Typically, they’re simply interpretations. However… that is the primary time a map has depicted an space on a particular scale… in all probability a option to affirm the possession of the territory by a small prince or king on the time.”

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Lifting and positioning of the Bronze Age stone map that was fortunately rediscovered in 2014 within the chateaux cellar. (Clément Nicolas, Yvan Pailler / Inrap)

Understanding an Historic Stone Map With the Newest Science

The crew recorded the floor topography of the Bronze Age slab and carried out an evaluation of the morphology, know-how, and chronology of the engravings. What they discovered was a trapezoidal motif on the heart of the slab, which had convex edges. This trapezoidal form was deeply engraved and bore two axes: a horizontal axis from edge to edge, and a vertical axis that was barely damaged and harder to decipher initially. Moreover, a sequence of complicated patterns, linked by a community of pecked traces, are dotted everywhere in the stone slab.

Three elements associated to prehistoric cartography revealed that this was certainly an historical map:

• The homogenous composition with engravings similar in method and magnificence
• The repetition of motifs
• The spatial relationships between the traces

To verify their hypotheses, the Saint-Belec slab was in contrast with comparable representations from European prehistory.

The map’s central motif or line has been interpreted as an enclosure, in all probability from the place the territory emanated or the place it was centered.

Element view of a deeply pitted oval motif with a cup in its heart. The picketing method produces splintering of the shale, forming halos across the patterns. (Denis Glicksman / Inrap)

Firstly, it goes with out saying that the power of prehistoric societies to have interaction in formalized cartography and mind-mapping, was rather more superior than beforehand thought.

Secondly, the Saint-Belec slab is contemporaneous with the well-known Nebra sky disk from Germany which is date to about 1600 BC. The Nebra sky disk Nebra is taken into account to be the oldest concrete depiction of the cosmos in Europe.

Lastly, there in all probability existed a political entity led by a prince or a king, who needed their territory to be actually solid in stone.

High picture: Overhead view of the Saint-Bélec slab.          Supply: Denis Glicksman / Inrap

By Sahir Pandey