This {photograph} taken on July 27, 2023, reveals a diver looking for archaeological materials in Lake Ohrid, southeastern Albania. A combined staff of Albanian and Swiss archaeologists from the Univesity of Bern have confirmed that the Palafitte settlement of Lin dates again to 5800 – 6,000 years BC, making it the oldest lakeside village in Europe found thus far. The village is believed to have consisted of homes constructed on stilts above the lake’s floor or in areas frequently flooded by rising waters.
| Photo Credit: AFP
Beneath the turquoise waters of Lake Ohrid, the “Pearl of the Balkans”, scientists have uncovered what could also be certainly one of Europe’s earliest sedentary communities, and are attempting to resolve the thriller of why it sheltered behind a fortress of defensive spikes.
A stretch of the Albanian shore of the lake as soon as hosted a settlement of stilt homes some 8,000 years in the past, archaeologists consider, making it the oldest lakeside village in Europe found thus far.
Radiocarbon courting from the location places it at between 6000 and 5800 BC.
“It is several hundred years older than previously known lake-dwelling sites in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions,” mentioned Albert Hafner, a professor of archaeology from Switzerland’s University of Bern.
“To our knowledge, it is the oldest in Europe,” he instructed AFP.
The most historical different such villages had been found within the Italian Alps and date to round 5000 BC, mentioned the professional in European Neolithic lake dwellings.
Hafner and his staff of Swiss and Albanian archaeologists have spent the previous 4 years finishing up excavations at Lin on the Albanian aspect of Lake Ohrid, which straddles the mountainous border of North Macedonia and Albania.
The settlement is believed to have been residence to between 200 and 500, with homes constructed on stilts above the lake’s floor or in areas frequently flooded by rising waters.
This handout {photograph} taken on July 29, 2023 and launched on August 9, 2023 by the Albanian Institute of Archaeology reveals a diver looking for archaeological materials in Lake Ohrid, southeastern Albania. A combined staff of Albanian and Swiss archaelogists from the Univesity of Bern have confirmed that the the Palafitte settlement of Lin dates again to 5800 – 6,000 years BC, making it the oldest lakeside village in Europe found thus far. The village is believed to have consisted of homes constructed on stilts above the lake’s floor or in areas frequently flooded by rising waters.
| Photo Credit:
AFP
Fortress of spikes
And it’s slowly revealing some astonishing secrets and techniques.
During a current dive, archaeologists uncovered proof suggesting the settlement was fortified with 1000’s of spiked planks used as defensive barricades.
“To protect themselves in this way, they had to cut down a forest,” mentioned Hafner.
But why did the villagers have to construct such in depth fortifications to defend themselves? Archaeologists are nonetheless looking for a solution to the elusive query.
Researchers estimate that roughly 100,000 spikes had been pushed into the underside of the lake off Lin, with Hafner calling the invention “a real treasure trove for research”.
Lake Ohrid is without doubt one of the oldest lakes on the planet and has been round for greater than 1,000,000 years.
Assisted by skilled divers, archaeologists have been selecting via the underside of the lake usually uncovering fossilised fragments of wooden and prized items of oak.
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Like a Swiss watch
Analysis of the tree rings helps the staff reconstruct the day by day lifetime of the world’s inhabitants — offering “valuable insights into the climatic and environmental conditions” from the interval, mentioned Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi.
“Oak is like a Swiss watch, very precise, like a calendar,” mentioned Hafner.
“In order to understand the structure of this prehistoric site without damaging it, we are conducting very meticulous research, moving very slowly and very carefully,” added Anastasi, who heads the staff of Albanian researchers.
The lush vegetation on the web site makes the work painstaking gradual at occasions.
“Building their village on stilts was a complex task, very complicated, very difficult, and it’s important to understand why these people made this choice,” mentioned Anastasi.
For the time being, scientists say it’s potential to imagine that the village relied on agriculture and domesticated livestock for meals.
“We found various seeds, plants and the bones of wild and domesticated animals,” mentioned Ilir Gjepali, an Albanian archaeology professor working on the web site.
But it’ll take one other 20 years for web site to be totally explored and studied and for ultimate conclusions to be drawn.
According to Anastasi, every excavation journey yields useful info, enabling the staff to piece collectively an image of life alongside Lake Ohrid’s shores 1000’s of years in the past — from the structure of the dwellings to the construction of their neighborhood.
“These are key prehistoric sites that are of interest not only to the region but to the whole of southwest Europe,” mentioned Hafner.
