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A general view of the remains of a stone defensive
wall which enclosed an ancient town, near Provadia, some 410 km (255 miles)
northeast of Sofia, A team of scientists led by Bulgarian archaeologist
Professor Vassil Nikolov has uncovered the settlement which is dated back to
4,700-4,200 B.C., in the vicinity of a salt production centre, which was the
source of prosperity of the region in the pre-historic period. These are the
remains of the most ancient town unearthed in Europe, according to Nikolov. AP
Photo / Handout Bulgarian National Institute of Archeology / V. Nikolov.
By: Veselin Toshikov, Associated Press
SOFIA (AP).- A prehistoric town unearthed in eastern
Bulgaria is the oldest urban settlement found to date in Europe, a Bulgarian
archaeologist said Thursday.
Vasil Nikolov, a professor from Bulgaria's
National Institute of Archaeology, said the stone walls excavated by his team
near the town of Provadia are estimated to date between 4,700 and 4,200 B.C. He
said the walls, which are 3 meters (10 feet) high and 2 meters (6 ½ feet) thick,
are believed to be the earliest and most massive fortifications from Europe's
prehistory.
"We started excavation work in 2005, but only after this
archaeological season did we gathered enough evidence to back up this claim,"
Nikolov told The Associated Press.
The team has so far unearthed remains
of a settlement of two-story houses with a diameter of about 100 meters (328
feet) encircled by a fortified wall .
Excavations have also uncovered a
series of pits used for rituals as well as parts of a gate. Carbon analysis has
dated them to the Chalcolithic age to between 4,700 and 4,200 B.C., he said —
more than a millennium before the start of the ancient Greek civilization.
"New samples of the excavations have been sent to the University of
Cologne, Germany, for further evaluation," Nikolov said.
Bulgaria, a
Balkan country of 7.3 million, hosts numerous Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze
Age settlement mounds as well as significant remains of Hellenistic, Roman and
Byzantine urban centers.
Nikolov said the settlement near Provadia was
home to some 350 people who likely produced salt from the nearby rock-salt
deposits.
"They boiled brine from salt springs in kilns, baked it into
bricks, which were then exchanged for other commodities with neighboring
tribes," Nikolov said, citing as possible evidence the gold and copper jewelry
and artifacts that have been unearthed in the region.
The most valuable
is a collection of 3,000 gold pieces unearthed 40 years ago near the Black Sea
city of Varna. It is believed to be the oldest gold treasure in the world.
"For millenniums, salt was one of the most valued commodities, salt was
the money," Nikolov said adding that this explained the massive stone walls
meant to keep the salt safe.
The two-story houses, as well as the copper
needles and pottery found in graves at the site, suggest a community of wealthy
people whose likely work was the once-lucrative production of salt.
Nikolov expects more finds next summer when his team will return but
complained about inadequate government funding.
"We wouldn't be able to
continue without private donations," Nikolov said, naming the New York-based
Gipson foundation, which provided most of the funds for this year's excavation.
The remains of a man and two children in the necropolis of an
ancient town near the town of Provadia, some 410 km (255 miles) northeast of
Sofia, A team of scientists led by Bulgarian archaeologist Professor Vassil
Nikolov has uncovered the settlement which is dated back to 4,700-4,200 B.C., in
the vicinity of a salt production centre, which was the source of prosperity of
the region in the pre-historic period. These are the remains of the most ancient
town unearthed in Europe, according to Nikolov. AP Photo/ Handout Bulgarian
National Institute of Archeology/ V. Nikolov.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.
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