Mappa di Soleto
The Ostrakon Mappa di Soleto ( German Soleto card ) from the 5th century BC. BC is considered to be the oldest surviving map representation in the West . It shows the coastline of the southeastern tip of Apulia with some additional location information in Greek script . A laboratory specializing in non-destructive analyzes was able to prove the authenticity of the pottery shard in an expert report.
The shard was discovered as part of the research program CERCAM (Center d'étude et de recherche sur les civilizations antiques de la Méditerranée) of the University of Montpellier III (Université Paul-Valéry) under its director Thierry van Compernolle on August 21, 2003 in an excavation field near Lecce found. In the professional world, the discovery of this object was seen as a sensation and was first published in November 2004.
Object description
The terracotta shard is 5.9 × 2.9 cm in size and of irregular shape. It was originally part of the upper rim of a vessel (presumably a vase) and broke as an object of daily use before a map was scratched in for a second use . The use of pottery shards as notepads was very common at that time (see shards dish ).
The fragment of light clay has a black glaze. The coastline of the southeastern tip of Apulia, more precisely the region around Soleto, is carved in a clear contour . Other geographical objects are marked with dots and labeled by different hands. The investigations were carried out by Carlo De Simone . He was able to identify and locate the locations of Tàras , Hydr (ous) , Bal , Ozan , Nar and Sol . There are uncertainties about the place names Graxa, Stu ( Sternatia ?), Lios ( Santa Maria di Leuca ?), Mios ( Muro Leccese ?), Phil ( Roca Vecchia ?) And Lik ( Castro ?).
Discourse on authenticity
A forgery of such a small-format relic is easily possible, on the one hand because pottery shards can still be found in large numbers in these regions by lay people. On the other hand, the archaic stone carving can easily be made with many tools. Doubts about the authenticity arose accordingly early on. On February 1, 2006, the Dutch trade journal Geschiedenis Magazine published a statement entitled 'World's oldest map' a fake?
When researching the authenticity, the focus was therefore on the possible tool with which the scratches could have been made. An age determination of the workpiece on the other hand would not be effective.
First of all, it is noticeable that the cities are localized by a point that is common today and not with a symbol of stylized houses customary at the time. The characters are more in the style of more recent usage and the position and direction to the respective points is unusually even and precise. The scientists, on the other hand, argue that precisely because of its small size, any other representation than with dots would have been impossible. So the authenticity remains at least controversial.
reception
Thierry van Compernolle received honorary citizenship of the city of Soleto for his services. With the exhibition of this artefact one hoped from the beginning to be a big tourist magnet. Today the Soleto card is issued to the public in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Taranto .
Individual evidence
- ^ A b Fouilles et chantier archéologique de Soleto (Italie). CRISES, Center de recherches interdisciplinaires en sciences humaines et sociales, April 2012.
- ↑ A New Ancient Map? The Salentine peninsula in the 5th century BC. November 20, 2004 (version in Internet Archive).
- ↑ a b La più antica mappa dell'Occidente. I Apulia, March 2006
- ↑ Peter van der Krogt: 'World's oldest map' a fake? (Soleto map 5th century BC) , Geschiedenis Magazine, Volume 41, Issue 1 (Jan.-Feb. 2006), p. 5.
- ↑ Claus Moser: Is the “oldest map in the world” a fake? Card table, February 3, 2006.
- ↑ Alessio Sacquegna: La mappa di Soleto. Bistro Charbonnier blog, October 7, 2014.