Stone Tablets

World's Oldest Map Deciphered in Spain

A stone tablet discovered 16 years ago has been announced as the world's first known map, say experts. The prized artefact, found in a cave in Abauntz in the northern region of Navarra, Spain, was first located in 1993 - yet its intricate tangle of lines and swirls confounded archaeologists. Now however, the University of Zaragoza team who first found the tablet believe they've cracked its use. And team leader Pilar Utrilla believes its would have been used as much more than a mere A to Z: "We can say with certainty that it is a sketch, a map of the surrounding area," she tells the Telegraph. "Whoever made it sought to capture in stone the flow of the watercourses, the mountains outside the cave and the animals found in the area.

Stone Tablets Museum

Stone Tablets

Key Dates

Xian Forest of Stone Tablets was originally built in 1087.

 

The Xian Forest of Stone Tablets was originally built in 1087. The Forest of Stone Steles in Xian holds a large collection of steles in China. The museum has a classical courtyard structure at the site of the former Confucian Temple in Sanxue Street, Xian, close to the south gate of Xian City Wall.

Related Structures

Xian City Wall

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