Shipwreck finds earliest astrolabe 沉船中发现世上最早航海星盘

一个从一艘沉船中挖掘出的史前器物可能是目前世上发现的最早用于导航的工具。海洋考古学家说这个物体是一个“星盘”，海员在航行中用它测量太阳的高度，以确定所在位置。这个星盘是在1503年在印度洋暴风雪期间沉没的一艘葡萄牙船舰中找到的。请听报道。

The slim bronze disc was discovered during the excavation of the Esmeralda shipwreck – a Portuguese vessel that was exploring the Indian Ocean when it sank in a storm in 1503.

The object is decorated with a royal coat of arms, but laser scanning also revealed faint etchings around its edges, each separated by five degrees. It confirms that this is an astrolabe - an instrument used by mariners to measure the height of the sun above the horizon, enabling them to navigate the seas.

Only around one hundred of these items have been found, and this one most likely dates to the late fifteenth century, making it the earliest known example by several decades.

词汇表 bronze 铜的，青铜的

disc 圆盘，盘状物

excavation 挖掘，发掘

shipwreck 沉船

vessel 船，舰

sank（使）沉没了

is decorated with 用…装饰

royal coat of arms 皇家纹章

laser scanning 激光扫描

【Shipwreck finds earliest astrolabe 沉船中发现世上最早航海星盘】相关文章：

★ Fake art and vegetable orchestra 艺术仿造品交易，蔬菜交响乐团

★ Baldness 秃头的烦恼

★ Free water refill points opened to cut waste 英国推行“免费续水点”以减少塑料垃圾

★ Sharing waste food and steepest street 剩余食材再利用、最陡的街道

★ 'World's longest cave' discovered 墨西哥潜水团队发现“世界最长”水下洞穴

★ Convey, convert, transform 和 divert 四个含有“转换”意思的单词

★ A recipe for disaster 后患无穷

★ The mystery of our earliest memories 人类早期记忆的谜团

★ To make a mountain out of a molehill 小题大做

★ Samsung smartphone problem, zoo chimps feeling wild 三星智能手机问题，动物园的黑猩猩野性十足