Lid of a vessel with calendrical markings

Material: Ceramic

Date: 3rd–2nd millennium BC

Origin: Troy (Hisarlık), Çanakkale Province, Turkey

This circular ceramic lid from ancient Troy is decorated with incised symbols representing early calendrical and cosmological understanding. Eleven engraved radial lines extend from a central circle, symbolizing the difference in days between the solar and lunar years, dividing the disc into four distinct sections. Each section likely represented one of the four seasons.

At the top, a stag, crescent moon, and sun disc are depicted, while a serpent lies to the left and a tree to the right — motifs that may symbolize celestial cycles, fertility, and renewal. The arrangement of these images could also correspond to star constellations known to early astronomer-priests of the Bronze Age Aegean. Similar iconography appears on other artifacts from Troy, such as decorated clay spheres and spindle whorls, suggesting a shared symbolic system that blended practical timekeeping with sacred cosmology.

Museum label reference:

A lid from a Trojan vessel also documents calendrical knowledge. Eleven engraved lines, which symbolise the difference in days between the Sun year and the Moon year, divide the lid into four areas. Engraved at the top are a stag, a crescent moon, and a sun disc; to the left a serpent and to the right a tree. The four areas could be interpreted as the four seasons, and the images as specific star constellations. The same images are also known from other artefacts from Troy, like small spheres and decorated whorls.

Taken on  Tuesday 06th of August 2019

Device: Google

Model: Pixel 3 XL

Tags:  ceramic | circle dot | cross | cross with circle in the center | germany | museum | museum island | solar dot | sun cross | tree

Genre:  3rd–2nd Millennium BC