A Belgian map collector might have gotten hold of what is believed to be the oldest globe. Guess what this globe is carved on? An ostrich egg! Isn’t that unique?

The rare globe was bought by Stefaan Missinne, a Belgian art collector in the London map fair in 2012. The map and its Latin inscriptions suggest that the globe is probably the oldest one to be discovered. The map shows two islands where North America is today. Also, on the globe above the coast of Southeast Asia, it is written “Hic Sunt Dracones” meaning “Here be dragons”.

The radiology tests done on the egg dates it back to 1500’s. Before this discovery, the oldest globe was the copper globe – the copper Hunt-Lenox Globe, dated around 1510. Both the globes have remarkable similarities and, therefore, scientists are thinking that its quite possible that the Hunt-Lenox is a metal cast of the egg globe.