Scientists report that a solar eclipse recorded on a Chinese clay tablet as occurring on May 3, 1375 B.C. really happened about 150 years later on March 5, 1223 B.C. The scientists compared the criteria stated on the tablet, e.g., Mars visible, and the likely age range of the tablet to a list of possible total solar eclipses visible from Ugarit, where the tablet was found. Only the later date fit the bill. Even so, it would remain the oldest known reliable record of a total solar eclipse. The next oldest is a Syrian record from the Eight Century B.C.
Scientists report that a solar eclipse recorded on a Syrian clay tablet as occurring on May 3, 1375 B.C. really happened about 150 years later on March 5, 1223 B.C. The scientists compared the criteria stated on the tablet, e.g., Mars visible, and the likely age range of the tablet to a list of possible total solar eclipses visible from Ugarit, where the tablet was found. Only the later date fit the bill. Even so, it would remain the oldest known reliable record of a total solar eclipse. The next oldest is a Chinese record from the Eight Century B.C.