A 4000-year-old stone map, the oldest in Europe, is found in France

In 1900, a slab measuring 2 by 1.5 meters was discovered, which was rediscovered in the basement of a castle in France. According to archaeologists who studied its patterns, it may be a map of the area in western Brittany, more than 4000 years old.

This was reported by NV.

This piece of stone, known as the Saint-Bélec slab, may have been created during the Early Bronze Age, between 1900 B.C. and 1650 B.C. It is thus believed to be the oldest three-dimensional map of a known area in Europe.

According to a study published in the Bulletin of the French Prehistoric Society, the surface of the slab contains "repeating motifs connected by lines" that indicate a possible depiction of the Finisterre area. The slab also contains three-dimensional images of the Odette River valley, and several lines reflect the river network of the area. The geolocation showed that the area represented on the plate corresponds to an area of about 18 miles of the river with an accuracy of about 80%.

One of the study's authors, Dr. Clement Nicholas of Bournemouth University, called the slab the oldest identified map of the area. And while other maps carved in stone have also been found around the world, they tend to be more general in nature and can only be interpretations. The Saint-Bélec slab, however, is the first example of a map with a detailed depiction of a specific area.

Read also: Houses 5.5 thousand years old with ceramic jewelry and beads found in Turkey

According to Dr. Nicholas, it is likely that the slab was used to mark a specific area and perhaps as a way to prove ownership of that territory. This artifact reminds us of the significant geographical knowledge of past communities and the historical importance of cartography.

Thus, the Saint-Bélec plate becomes an interesting testament to ancient knowledge and helps to expand our understanding of the history of cartography and its importance in past eras.

As a reminder, a 5000-year-old tombstone was discovered in Portugal (photo).

If you want to get the latest news about the war and events in Ukraine, subscribe to our Telegram channel!