8000 piles in the ground testify to a deep settlement history: On the shores of Lake Ohrid in the southwestern Balkan region, there were already in the 5th millennium BC Chr. Pile dwellings, emerges from new dates. Archaeologists say that further insights into the history of settlements in the area of the geologically oldest lake in Europe could shed light on the history of the first farmers on the continent. Because the Balkan region played a key role in the expansion of agriculture in Europe.
The settlements on stilts have become particularly famous thanks to the reconstructions in the open-air museum in Unteruhldingen on Lake Constance. But pile dwellings stood from the 5th to the 1st millennium BC. BC also on the banks of some other lakes in Europe, as is known from finds. The oldest remains provide particularly rare insights into the world at the beginning of the Neolithic in Europe. This epoch is particularly exciting because it was shaped by the transition from the hunter-gatherer cultures to the rural way of life.
How old are the piles from Lake Ohrid?
In the current case, the view is directed towards a lake in the southwest of the Balkans, which borders Albania and North Macedonia. Lake Ohrid, which is around 30 kilometers long and 15 kilometers wide, has so far been famous primarily for its geological history: It is considered the oldest lake in Europe, because while others were only formed towards the end of the last Ice Age, it existed 1.36 million years ago. But as it turned out, Lake Ohrid is not only geologically but also archaeologically exciting: in the bay of Ploča Mičov Grad near the North Macedonian city of Ohrid, piles have been discovered in the ground. So far, however, it has been assumed that these are the remains of a settlement from around 1000 BC. But an international team of archaeologists wanted to know more: The researchers subjected the wood, some of which was well preserved, to dendrochronological examinations and carried out radiocarbon dating.
The analyzes of a total of around 800 piles finally confirmed a surprisingly deep-reaching and extensive settlement history in the Bay of Ploča Mičov Grad: According to this, there were different settlement phases there, starting from the Neolithic – the middle of the 5th millennium BC. BC – reached into the Bronze Age. The apparently intensive and long-lasting construction activity explains the extraordinary density of wooden piles at the site: the settlements were built on top of each other, say the archaeologists.
Shed light on a key agricultural region
As you emphasize, the findings have far-reaching significance: “The precise dates of the different settlement phases of Ploča Mičov Grad represent important temporal reference points for a chronology of prehistory in the southwestern Balkans,” says co-author Albert Hafner from the University of Bern. The chronological classification is particularly important for the assessment of further possible finds. Because the lake bed in the area of the former pile dwellings harbors a so-called cultural layer, according to previous investigations. It is up to 1.7 meters thick and contains, among other things, the remains of harvested grain, wild plants and animals that can provide information about the development of agriculture and livestock farming in the region, say the scientists.
The location is particularly interesting in this context, as the Balkan Peninsula played a key geographical role in the expansion of agriculture in Europe. It is assumed that the early cattle breeders and arable farmers from Anatolia first came to the Aegean region more than 8000 years ago. From there, the north-west formed a transition region as it spread into Central Europe. In the Balkans, the newcomers were also confronted with comparatively cool and humid climates, which forced them to adapt their agricultural practices accordingly. “The interactions between this revolutionary innovation and the environment are largely unknown”, Hafner emphasizes.
He and his colleagues therefore now see the results as the basis for further investigations – at Lake Ohrid and beyond: “We want to highlight the region’s great potential for future research on prehistoric settlements,” said Hafner. Because some prehistoric settlement relics could still be dormant on the shores of lakes in Albania, Northern Greece and North Macedonia. The archaeologists now want to continue working to research and preserve them.
Source: University of Bern, specialist article: Journal of Archaeological Science, doi: 10.1016 / j.jasrep.2021.103107