Science

Mariner’s astrolabe discovered in wreckage of 15th century Portuguese ship is the oldest ever found


Ancient mariner’s astrolabe discovered in the wreckage of a 15th century Portuguese ship is the oldest ever found, researchers confirm

  • Device could be 523 years old, dating to Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama
  • It’s likely from da Gama’s second voyage to India between 1502 to 1503
  • Astrolabes, navigation devices, were used to measure the stars and latitude 

With an independent confirmation from the Guinness Book of World Records, there’s a officially a new title-holder for the world’s oldest-ever recovered astrolabe.

According to the University of Warwick, the astrological device — used by ancient astronomers and explorers — was recovered from the ship wreck site of Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama and is believed to have been made between 1496 and 1501.

The device, according to scholars, is likely from da Gama’s second voyage to India between 1502 to 1503 and will now join a rare list of other astrolabes recovered from ancient ships around the world that total just 104 altogether. 

According to researcher's the artifact is as old as 523 years.

According to researcher’s the artifact is as old as 523 years.

WHAT IS A MARINER’S ASTROLABE? 

An astrolabe was a disk-like device used by astronomers and explorers to determine a constellation’s position in the sky.

They were critical in helping sea captains find their way across vast oceans and are among the rarest and most coveted items salvaged from ship wrecks. 

According to historians, the devices were often used by Portuguese explorers and played a critical role in navigating voyages using constellations as way points.

Da Gama’s astrolabe also stands out as unique among other such artifacts according to scholars. 

In addition to being the only recorded disk-type astrolabe, it is also the only such device to be decorated with the coat of arms of a specific country. 

The device’s discovery and identification also intercedes historians’ prior chronology of how astrolabes developed over time.

In a statement, the researchers said the discovery ‘fills a chronological gap in the development of these iconic instruments and is believed to be a transitional instrument between the classic planispheric astrolabe and the open-wheel type astrolabe that came into use sometime before 1517.’

Without advances 3-D imaging technology, researchers would have struggled to identify the astrolabe correctly.

Without advances 3-D imaging technology, researchers would have struggled to identify the astrolabe correctly. 

While the artifact itself is the oldest in human record, the technology used to identify the device is cutting edge. 

Using high-tech laser and 3-D imaging technology capable of collecting over 50,000 points per second, researchers were able to recreate a computerized model of the artifact that gave them the much-needed insight into how the device was made. 

‘Without the laser scanning work, we would never have known that the scale marks, which were invisible to the naked eye, existed,’ David Mearns of Blue Water Recoveries Ltd said in a statement. 

‘Their analysis proved beyond doubt that the disk was a mariner’s astrolabe.

‘This has allowed us to confidently place the Sodré astrolabe in its correct chronological position and propose it to be an important transitional instrument.’ 



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