8,000-year-old village discovered with spikes to protect from unknown threat
Mystery Surrounds Ancient European Village with Defensive Spikes
In a puzzling discovery, researchers have unearthed an ancient lakeside settlement beneath Albania’s Lake Ohrid, deemed the ‘Pearl of the Balkans.’ The village, estimated to be 8,000 years old, predates previously known lake-dwelling sites in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions, making it the oldest of its kind in Europe, according to Professor Albert Hafner from the University of Bern.
The intriguing find has raised more questions than answers. The community, home to 200-500 people, was not only constructed on stilts above the lake’s surface but was also surrounded by a formidable defensive network of approximately 100,000 spikes driven into the lake bed. The villagers went to great lengths to secure their settlement, requiring the clearing of a forest for the spike installation.
Adrian Anastasi from the Albanian Institute of Archaeology expressed the complexity of the villagers’ choices, stating, “Building their village on stilts was a complex task, very complicated, very difficult, and it’s important to understand why these people made this choice.”
The significance of the site extends beyond its enigmatic construction. Lake Ohrid, considered one of the oldest in the world, poses a challenge for researchers who must meticulously explore the prehistoric site without causing damage. Professional divers, archaeologists, and researchers are taking precautions to preserve the integrity of the area.
Analyses of the site offer glimpses into the climatic and environmental conditions of the time, emphasizing its importance for understanding the region and southwest Europe as a whole. The ongoing research has already yielded findings of seeds, plants, and bones of both wild and domesticated animals.
Despite the progress, researchers anticipate that it will take approximately two decades to fully comprehend the region and draw definitive conclusions about the ancient community and its defensive measures.
