The oldest village in Europe has been discovered in Albania

An incredible discovery has just occurred in Albania, and in the depths of a magnificent lake that holds several European records and beyond

It is a surprising and very important discovery that has recently occurred Albania: was identified oldest lakeside village on our entire continent. It is submerged by a beautiful lake which, among other things, can boast several other records that make it unique in the world.

The discovery of the village

We are located at the lake in Ohrid, a body of water located almost 700 meters above sea level, between the majestic mountains of Albania and North Macedonia. It is a real jewel that has been included by UNESCO in the list of world heritage sites. And it is precisely on the Albanian shore that, in recent days, the discovery of a very ancient village.

To be precise, a group of scientists has found what was once a stilt settlement, dating back 8000 years ago. The excavations were carried out at Linen, peninsula of eastern Albania, and have brought to light fossilized wood fragments and valuable pieces of oak.

Currently there are still many doubts since archaeologists are still unable to state how it was built and why it was made of wood. However, as can be read on Euronews, Adrian Anastasi, an Albanian archaeologist who is following the project, stated that: “Building the village on wooden stilts was a complex, very complicated, very difficult task, and it is important to understand why these people chose this type of architecture.”

Among the hypotheses made up to this moment, there is the one according to which those who built this ancient village had the objective of protect yourself. There are therefore no certainties except for the fact that it will still take many years of research for the site to be completely explored and studied. With patience, we will be able to get answers on the because the ancient inhabitants of the place chose to live on stilts.

The other primates of the lake

According to this recent discovery, Lake Ohrid hides among its depths the oldest lakeside village in Europe, but the truth is that this is not his only record.

Dating back more than a million years, it is itself the oldest lake in Europe, not only what its waters hide. This venerable age was determined through several studies carried out on deep cores, taken from the base of the lake sediments deposited on the bottom of the lake, taken in five places on the lake in 2013, for a total of 2000 meters of cores and published in 2014 by a group of scholars.

But this spectacular body of water can also boast another record: it is the lake with the largest number of endemic species in the world. In total there are 212 animal and plant species; Among these, the fish fauna is known, characterized by a very high rate of endemism, which therefore requires particular protection.

Plus, let's talk about a lake that is 100% natural since in these parts there is no dam or even artificial elements.

In short, the discovery that has just occurred on the Albanian shore of this lake is very important, also because it was made in a truly unique place in the world.

Source: iStock