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(CNN) A slab of stone, engraved with intricate lines and motifs dating to the Bronze Age, has been revealed to be Europe s oldest map, researchers say.
Using high-resolution 3D surveys and photogrammetry, researchers re-examined the Saint-Bélec Slab an engraved and partly broken piece of stone that was discovered in 1900 but forgotten about for almost a century.
Researchers from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), the UK s Bournemouth University, the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of Western Brittany say the recent study of the stone has revealed it to be the oldest cartographic representation of a known territory in Europe.
This Bronze Age carved stone is Europe’s oldest map
A slab of stone, engraved with intricate lines and motifs dating to the Bronze Age, has been revealed to be Europe’s oldest map, researchers say.
Using high-resolution 3D surveys and photogrammetry, researchers re-examined the Saint-Bélec Slab an engraved and partly broken piece of stone that was discovered in 1900 but forgotten about for almost a century.
Researchers from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), the UK’s Bournemouth University, the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of Western Brittany say the recent study of the stone has revealed it to be the oldest cartographic representation of a known territory in Europe.
Bronze Age Carved Stone Is Europe’s Oldest Map
POOLE, England. A slab of stone, engraved with intricate lines and motifs dating to the Bronze Age, has been revealed to be Europe’s oldest map, researchers say.
Using high-resolution 3D surveys and photogrammetry, researchers re-examined the Saint-Bélec Slab an engraved and partly broken piece of stone that was discovered in 1900 but forgotten about for almost a century.
Researchers from the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap), the UK’s Bournemouth University, the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the University of Western Brittany say the recent study of the stone has revealed it to be the oldest cartographic representation of a known territory in Europe.
Forgotten Stone Slab May Actually Be The Oldest Known Map in Europe
7 APRIL 2021
The markings are unfamiliar: carved contours that now only hint at a lost landscape from long ago. Nonetheless, a large, mysterious slab of stone recently rediscovered in France looks like it might just be the oldest known map in Europe.
In a new study, researchers re-examined the Saint-Bélec slab – an intricately carved, partly broken slab of stone first found in 1900, before being set aside in a castle and largely forgotten about for over 100 years.
Only now are modern archaeologists reappraising the slab and learning its significance – specifically, that it could in fact represent the most ancient cartographical depiction of known land in Europe.
Bronze Age stone slab discovered in France is oldest map in Europe, say archaeologists msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.