Recently arrived from a laboratory at the University of Bern, radiocarbon dating results of pile samples recovered from this pile dwelling site, discovered off the small Linen peninsula, place its antiquity at between 6000 and 5800 BC.

"To our knowledge, the Lin lake site is the oldest in Europe. It is several hundred years older than those we knew until now" in the Mediterranean and the Alpine region, said archaeologist Albert Hafner, director of research at the University of Bern.

"In the north of the Alps, the oldest sites date from around 4000 BC, further south, in the Italian alpine lakes (they date) around 5000 BC," says this expert on European lake cities of the Neolithic.

These villages consisted of houses on stilts, above water or in areas regularly flooded by rising waters.

Farmers in prehistory

The city of Lake Balkan could have been populated by 200 to 500 people, according to initial estimates.

Assisted by professional divers, archaeologists continue to descend in turn to the bottom of the lake to bring up fossilized fragments and especially pieces of oak piles.

Archaeologist Albert Hafner, director of research at the University of Bern, examines objects discovered on the shores of Lake Ohrid, where the remains of the oldest lake city are located, on July 27, 2023 in Lin, Albania © Adnan Beci / AFP

The analysis of the growth rings of these trunks by the dendrochronology method should provide "a valuable insight into the climatic and environmental conditions" of the time and the daily life of the inhabitants of this city, explains archaeologist Adrian Anastasi, head of the Albanian research team.

"The oak is like a Swiss watch, very precise, like a calendar," says Albert Hafner.

Archaeologist Adrian Anastasi, head of the Albanian research team, works on his computer during underwater excavations in Lake Ohrid, where the remains of the oldest lake city are located, on July 27, 2023 in Lin, Albania © Adnan Beci / AFP

"To understand the structure of this pile dwelling without damaging it, ...) we move very slowly and with great caution," says Adrian Anastasi. Abundant vegetation does not facilitate this work.

"Building their village on stilts was a complex task (...) And it's important to understand why these people chose this type of architecture," he adds.

It is assumed, for the time being, that agriculture and cattle ranching had been the main activities of these villagers.

Archaeology professor Ilir Gjepali examines objects collected during underwater excavations at Lake Ohrid on July 27, 2023 in Lin, Albania © Adnan Beci / AFP

"We found different seeds, plants and also bones of wild and domestic animals," says Ilir Gjepali, an Albanian archaeology professor in charge of making an initial selection of the materials brought to the surface.

Among the first sedentary people in Europe?

Each descent to the bottom of the lake provides valuable information to reconstruct the architecture of the dwellings or the organization of the life of the villagers, who could turn out to have been among the first sedentary on the European continent, according to Adrian Anastasi.

After a recent two-hour dive, Kristi Anastasi, an Albanian researcher in underwater archaeology, found a large amount of archaeological material, ceramics and fragments of flint tools four meters deep.

Researchers take part in the underwater excavation of Lake Ohrid, where the remains of the oldest lake city are located, on July 27, 2023 in Lin, Albania © Adnan Beci / AFP

Samples of piles and other organic materials are regularly sent to university laboratories in Bern for analysis.

Archaeologists discovered that the city had probably been fortified.

Aerial view of divers participating in underwater excavations of Lake Ohrid, where the remains of the oldest lake city are located, on July 27, 2023 in Lin, Albania © Adnan Beci / AFP

They estimate that some 100,000 piles have been driven to the bottom of the lake, off Lin, "a real treasure for research," Hafner said, adding that research on the site could take another twenty years.

"To protect themselves like this, they had to cut down a forest," he said. Protect yourself from whom? It is difficult for archaeologists to have an immediate answer.

"These are key sites for prehistory and are not only interesting for the region, but also for the whole of southwestern Europe," says the archaeologist.

© 2023 AFP