In 2021, archaeologists identified the Saint-Belec slab as Europe’s oldest map — a carved stone about 4,000 years old. The slab’s puzzling engraving has baffled historians for more than a century.
A local historian found the mysterious slab in northwestern France in 1900 but couldn’t decipher its symbols. Archaeologists rediscovered the stone in 2014 and have worked since to understand the markings. French experts have brought in international colleagues to help.
The international research team now says the slab may be a giant treasure map.
Researchers are trying to decode the engravings to date the artifact more precisely and to use the map to guide archaeological searches that could uncover new sites.
The Ancient Map Could Reveal a Trove of Valuable Artifacts
Typically, archaeologists locate ancient sites using sophisticated radar equipment, aerial photography, or excavations carried out before new construction. Using an ancient map to do that is an unprecedented opportunity.
“Using a map to search for archaeological sites is a fantastic approach. We’ve never worked this way before,” said Ivan Payler, a professor at the University of Western Brittany (UBO).
The ancient map, the team says, covers an area of roughly 30 by 21 kilometers. Clément Nicolas from the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) pointed out that the team needs to survey the entire area, using the slab as their guide. Researchers estimate this labor-intensive project will take about 15 years, Science Alert reported.
From the slab’s rough contours and lines, the team identified rivers and the Roudouallec mountains — features in Brittany about 500 kilometers west of Paris.
They scanned the slab and compared it to modern maps, finding an 80 percent match. Tiny depressions on the stone may mark burial mounds, dwellings, or geological features. Decoding the symbols could lead to a string of new discoveries.
The Story of the Slab Grows Richer
Before diving into a full analysis, archaeologists spent several weeks studying the site where the stone was originally found. Professor Payler says the area was home to one of the largest Bronze Age burial sites. While studying the area, the team found several more fragments of the slab — likely pieces of a tomb wall.
The territory shown on the map may correspond to an ancient kingdom that was probably destroyed in uprisings. Afterwards, people appear to have reused the broken slab as building material.
