Underwater excavators at Lake Ohrid, between Macedonia and Albania, uncovered one of the oldest European stilted villages four years ago and revealed the discovery in a report published Friday.
The stilted village is believed to be roughly 8,000 years old, having been built between 6,000 and 5,800 B.C., according to AFP (translated via Yahoo). “It is several hundred years older than previously known lake-dwelling sites in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions,” University of Bern archaeology professor Albert Hafner said of the discovery. “To our knowledge, it is the oldest in Europe.”
100,000 spikes surrounded the mysterious village, and is believed to have had anywhere from 200 to 500 houses, all of which were built on stilts, the outlet reported. It’s unclear why the villagers were forced to protect themselves so seriously, and why they chose to build their homes so far away from everything and in such a complicated manner.
Video footage shared online shows divers exploring the region and revealing the spikes on the lakebed.
The process of felling trees to make the spikes, and then building stilted homes, is believed to have been extremely complicated for the time period. But that didn’t stop anyone. (RELATED: Scientists Uncover Chilling Evidence Of Ancient Tsunami)
It’s believed a total excavation and study of the site will take at least a decade. Thus far, researchers are aware that our ancient ancestors domesticated animals and were engaged in significant, organized agriculture within the area.