The discovery of the oldest village in Europe on stilts amazed archaeologists

Scientists have discovered the oldest settlement in the lake with the help of divers

Archaeologists have found an entire ancient village built on stilts under a lake in Albania. A village found on Lake Ohrid dating from 5900-5800 BC is possibly the oldest European lake village ever discovered by scientists. The settlements of the village were built on stilts to protect the houses from the changing water levels in the mountainous region.

By itself, the find, probably the oldest lakeside village in Europe, would be enough to stir up the archeological community, writes Popular Mechanics. But a team of researchers from Switzerland and Albania managed to surpass even that by excavating part of the find underwater and showing how the village was once built on stilts with thousands of wooden spikes surrounding it as a protective device.

“To protect themselves in this way, they had to cut down the forest,” says Albert Hafner, professor of archeology at the University of Bern in Switzerland and lead researcher on the project.

Discovered in the mountainous lake Ohrid on the Albanian-North Macedonia border north of Greece, radiocarbon dating dates the find off the coast of Lina to between 5900 and 5800 BC, according to AFP. is several hundred years older than the previously known habitats of lake dwellers in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions. “As far as we know,” Hafner said, “this is the oldest such village in Europe.”

Making their way through the dense vegetation on the Albanian side, the archaeologists needed snorkeling equipment and the help of professional divers to determine the size of the village, which probably had up to 500 inhabitants. The houses were built on stilts to support the dwellings above the lake and the area’s undulating water levels.

“Building their village on stilts was a difficult task, very difficult, very difficult, and it is important to understand why these people made such a choice,” says Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi.

As AFP tells AFP, the villagers who cut the trees for piles found another use for them – they made about 100,000 oak planks with spikes, which they stuck into the bottom of the lake.

The oak used in the studs may provide some answers on its own – though more likely to questions of an ecological nature than a practical one. The study of tree rings can help researchers understand the changes in the area. “Oak is like a Swiss watch,” says Professor Hafner, “very accurate, like a calendar.”

Albert Hafner had already announced in 2021, in the early days of exploring the site, that the village was likely the key reason for the spread of agriculture in Europe. Continuing discoveries help reinforce old beliefs.

From the Albanian Prime Minister to Swiss Ambassador Ruth Huber, the last of whom visited the site in July on a private tour, a multitude of people are thrilled by the discoveries.

As divers assist archaeologists in their quest to unearth as much of the site as possible by helping to collect pieces of wood and animal bones from the bottom of the lake, the team hopes to continually learn more about the lifestyle in this ancient village. Maybe they can even understand why a village of no more than 500 people needed 100,000 wooden spikes.

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