A team of Swiss and Albanian archaeologists working along the shores of Lake Ohrid has uncovered what is believed to be Europe’s oldest known lakeside settlement.
According to Reuters, the discovery reveals an organized hunter-farmer community that lived as far back as 8,000 years ago. The archaeologists found wooden stilts used to support dwellings, along with domesticated and wild animal bones, copper artifacts, and finely decorated pottery.
Albert Hafner from the University of Bern explained that while similar stilt-house settlements have been discovered in Alpine and Mediterranean regions, the village in Lin, Albania, predates them by at least 500 years, dating between 6,000 and 8,000 years ago.
“Because it’s underwater, the organic material is exceptionally well-preserved. This allows us to discover what these people ate and cultivated,” said Hafner.
Lake Ohrid, which straddles the border between North Macedonia and Albania, is estimated to be over one million years old, making it the oldest lake in Europe. The age of the findings is being determined using radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, the latter analyzing annual tree growth rings. Over 1,000 wood samples have been collected from the site, which may have housed several hundred people.
Although the settlement may span six hectares, only about 1% has been excavated after six years of ongoing research.
The findings suggest that these early lake-dwellers played a significant role in spreading agriculture and livestock across Europe. “They were still hunting and foraging, but stable food income came from farming,” Hafner noted.
Adrian Anastasi, an Albanian archaeologist, said it could take decades to fully explore the area.
“From the way they lived, ate, hunted, fished, and built their homes, we can say they were remarkably intelligent for their time,” he concluded.
