Archaeologists: Early European Albanians on Lake Ohrid

These are the remains of what is probably the oldest settlement ever found in a European lake. Some 8,000 years ago, people were supposed to live on the banks of Lake Urdi, on the border between Albania and North Macedonia.

“Researchers have now found the remains of their buildings in this very lake. People living here long ago were very intelligent, had to work wood without large metal tools, cut down trees to build a prehistoric architecture with such accurate measurements. The way they run their economy, a mix of agriculture, fishing and hunting in the mountains shows that they were very good at managing natural resources”, Adrian Anastasi of the Albanian Institute of Archaeology said.

In countless dives, the Swiss-Albanian mixed team highlights the findings.

From the bones of animals to the ceramics to the wooden pillars on which the dwellings of the inhabitants relied. And the find may be much larger. Only one percent of the surface has been examined so far:

This is just the beginning. We plan to stay here for a long time, because the settlement is big. We've scratched the surface in the last five years. It will take decades to dig all”, archaeologist Ilir Gjipali said.

Apparently, researchers assume, the knowledge of agriculture and reserve spread from here to other parts of Europe and thus helped to develop the continent. /Periscopi/