Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of a 7,000-year-old road hidden under layers of sea mud off the southern Croatian coast.
Crafted at the sunken Neolithic site of Solinthis exciting find may have once linked antiquity Hvar culture Settlement on the now isolated island Korčula.
Once a artificial islandThe ancient site of Soline was discovered in 2021 by archaeologist Mate Parica from the University of Zadar in Croatia when he analyzed satellite images of the water area around Korčula.
After spotting something on the seabed that he believed might have been man-made, Parica and a colleague went underground to study it.
At a depth of 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 feet) im Mediterranean Adria they found stone walls that may have once been part of an ancient settlement. The landmass on which it was built was separated from the main island by a narrow strip of land.
“Fortunately, unlike most parts of the Mediterranean, this area is safe from big waves as many islands protect the coast,” Parica said said Reuters in 2021. “That certainly helped save the site from natural destruction.”
Thanks to these islands, the newly discovered prehistoric road has also been protected from powerful waves for thousands of years.
About 4 meters (13 feet) wide, the thoroughfare was built carefully stacked stone steps. Today it is covered with a thick layer of mud, as one might expect from an underwater structure.
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Researchers believe that the Neolithic Hvar culture that once inhabited the east Adriaticbuilt the now submerged settlement of Soline and the ancient passage that connected the islands.
Radiocarbon analysis of preserved wood has dated the entire settlement to around 4,900 BC. Estimated.
“People walked on it [road] almost 7,000 years ago”, the University of Zadar it says in a Facebook statement about his recent discovery.
This remarkable research is the result of cooperation of experts from Dubrovnik Museums, Kaštela City Museum, University of Zadar, Korčula City Museum, as well as the support of photographers and divers.
This is not the only secret that Korčula keeps. The same research team has uncovered another underwater settlement on the opposite side of the island, strikingly similar to Soline and yielding some fascinating Stone Age artifacts.
University of Zadar aArchaeologist Igor Borzić recently noticed intriguing structures beneath the bay’s waters. So the researchers who dived at the Soline site went exploring underwater and, to their great delight, discovered an almost identical settlement submerged at a depth of 4-5 meters.
“Neolithic artifacts like cream blades, stone [axes] and fragments of offerings were found at the site”, the University of Zadar adds.
The new settlement finds, like that of Soline and its connecting road, seem to have connections to the Hvar culture.
Around 12,000 years ago, the Neolithic, also known as the New stone ageemerged in some parts of the world as we gradually transitioned from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to agriculture and animal domestication, leading to more permanent settlements of communities.
Several archaeological finds, skeletal remains, artifactsarithmetically modeling of genetic patternsand many other sources such as 7,200 year old Croatian cheesecontribute to ours Knowledge of Neolithic Man.
But island settlements from the Neolithic are not found that often. These are exciting finds for archaeologists, showing how our ancestors were able to adapt to different environments and build roads between them.
