The earliest known communities in the Mediterranean and Alpine areas were several hundred years younger before the discovery made by the EXPLO project.
In the hamlet of Lin beneath Lake Ohrid, one of the oldest lakes in the world, archaeologists may have discovered one of Europe’s first settled settlements hidden behind a defensive spike castle.
Albert Hafner, an archaeology professor from Switzerland’s University of Bern, stated in an interview with the university that the discovery beneath Lake Ohrid in the Albanian village of Lin confirms that lakeshore settlements of the region — which straddles the mountainous border of North Macedonia — are much older than archaeologists’ expected.
Lin is the oldest lakeside village that has been found so far, and is even older than comparable ones found in southern Italy and throughout Europe, according to the findings made by Swiss and Albanian archaeologists with the aid of professional divers. Lin served as a hub for the development of agriculture, craftsmanship, and fishing around 8,500 years ago.
The earliest known communities in the Mediterranean and Alpine areas were several hundred years younger before the discovery made by the EXPLO project. The new radiocarbon date suggests that one of the oldest settlements of stilt dwellings in Europe occurred between 6000 and 5800 BC.
On the website for the EXPLO project, it is written that “archaeological sites in lakes of the southern Balkans (Greece, Albania, and North Macedonia) provide an excellent opportunity to investigate rich archives of societal and environmental change in the cradle of European farming.” “Natural lake sediments and submerged prehistoric settlements offer exceptional preservation conditions and uniquely holistic insights into past anthroposphere, biosphere, and geosphere dynamics.”
According to Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi, “it’s crucial to understand why these people took this choice. Building their community on stilts was a sophisticated undertaking, quite intricate, and very tough.”
While excavating numerous seeds, plants, and the bones of wild and domesticated animals at the site for the last four years, archaeologists suddenly found into a fresh puzzle to attempt and solve. Archaeologists don’t know why the people needed to build defensive barricades out of thousands of spiked boards, despite the fact that the presence of palisades implies that the hamlet was fortified.
According to AFP, Hafner described the find as “a real treasure trove for research,” with researchers estimating that over 100,000 spikes were driven into the lake’s bottom off Lin.
Archaeologists who spoke with AFP estimate that it will take another 20 years to fully explore and study the settlement and come to a conclusion.