8 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists uncover Europe’s oldest lakeside stilt village behind a fortress of defensive spikes

Under the turquoise waters of Lake Ohrid, the “Pearl of the Balkans” Scientists have uncovered what may be one of Europe’s earliest sedentary communities.

Guarded by a fortress of defensive spikes, what could be one of Europe’s earliest sedentary communities lies beneath the waters of Lake Ohrid.

Archaeologists believe that a stretch of the lake’s Albanian shore hosted a settlement of stilt houses around 8,000 years ago, making it the oldest lakeside village in Europe yet discovered.

Researchers estimate that it housed around 200 to 500 people and dates back to 6,000 and 5,800 BC.

This ancient settlement, as per the AFP report, is located on the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid, in areas regularly flooded by rising waters. Because of this, it was located on stilts.

Talking to AFP, Albert Hafner, a professor of archaeology from Switzerland’s University of Bern, said: “It is several hundred years older than previously known lake-dwelling sites in the Mediterranean and Alpine regions.”

“To our knowledge, it is the oldest in Europe,” he told.

Hafner and his team of Swiss and Albanian archaeologists have spent the past four years carrying out excavations at Lin on the Albanian side of Lake Ohrid, which straddles the mountainous border of North Macedonia and Albania.

An aerial photo taken shows divers searching for archaeological material in Lake Ohrid in southeastern Albania. / Credit: ADNAN BECI/AFP via Getty Images

During a recent dive, archaeologists uncovered evidence suggesting the settlement was fortified with thousands of spiked planks used as defensive barricades.

Hafner, an expert in European Neolithic lake dwellings, said that to protect themselves in such a way, the residents “had to cut down a forest”.

Researchers estimate that roughly 100,000 spikes were driven into the bottom of the lake off Lin, with Hafner calling the discovery “a real treasure trove for research.”

Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes in the world and has been around for more than a million years.

The underwater excavation is yielding valuable insights into the daily life of its ancient inhabitants. Archaeologists, assisted by professional divers, have come across fossilized fragments of wood, including prized pieces of oak.

An analysis of tree rings, as per Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi provides “valuable insights” information about climatic and environmental conditions during that period.

Researchers believe that the village relied on agriculture and domesticated livestock for sustenance. According to Ilir Gjepali, an Albanian archaeology professor working at the site, they’ve found seeds, plants, and bones of both wild and domesticated animals.

But it will take another two decades for site to be fully explored and studied and for final conclusions to be drawn.

Cover Photo: A diver scouring an archaeological site at the bottom of Lake Ohrid in Albania, the site of Europe’s oldest stilt village. AFP Jade Gao

Related Articles

Rare Gold Coin from Reign of Byzantine Emperor Justin II Unearthed at Tuida Fortress in Sliven, Bulgaria

25 June 2025

25 June 2025

A rare gold coin dating back to the reign of Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Justin II (r. 565–578 CE) has...

2600-year-old Med period artifacts found in Oluz Höyük, in Turkey

17 October 2022

17 October 2022

During the Oluz Höyük excavations in Amasya, artifacts dating back to the Med Kingdom period were found, dating back to...

Undeciphered Rongorongo Script from Easter Island may Predate European Colonization

12 February 2024

12 February 2024

From the depths of history, a wooden tablet bearing the mysterious “rongorongo” script has been unearthed from the small, remote...

Evidence of Rare Romano-Celtic Temple Near Lancaster Castle -may be only the second of its type –

10 March 2023

10 March 2023

A study exercise for students from Lancaster University has uncovered a Romano-Celtic temple, only the second of its type in...

Extremely well-preserved 2000-year-old child’s leather Shoe Discovered During Archaeological Mine Excavations

1 September 2023

1 September 2023

An “extremely well-preserved” Iron Age child’s shoe was discovered in Austria during excavations at Dürrnberg, near the historic town of...

For the first time, researchers discovered bioarchaeological evidence of familial embalming in early modern France

16 November 2024

16 November 2024

A unique discovery has revealed new insights into the burial rituals of early modern Western Europe: For the first time,...

A mosaic made by the freed slave to thank God was found in the church excavation

10 January 2022

10 January 2022

During the season excavation of the 6th-century Holy Apostles Church, located in an orange grove in the Arsuz district of...

4750-year-old Megalithic Stone Plaza Discovered in the High Andes of Peru

15 February 2024

15 February 2024

Two anthropology professors from the University of Wyoming have discovered a prehistoric plaza high in the Andes, known as Callacpuma...

In Poland’s “Death Valley,” new evidence of Nazi atrocities

18 August 2021

18 August 2021

In October 1939, between 30,000 and 35,000 Polish intellectuals, Polish civilians, Jews and Czechs, and German prisoners from psychiatric institutions...

Archaeologists find new clues about North Carolina’s ‘Lost Colony’ from the 16th century

11 May 2024

11 May 2024

Archaeologists from The First Colony Foundation have yielded a tantalizing clue about the fate of the Lost Colony, the settlers...

Great Wall Castle Remains Found in China’s Shaanxi

8 June 2021

8 June 2021

The remains of a Great Wall castle dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) were discovered in northwest China’s Shaanxi...

Intricate Design Revealed on 1100-Year-Old Gold-Inlaid Ritual Spear from Japan’s Island of the Gods

13 June 2025

13 June 2025

A recent archaeological breakthrough on Japan’s sacred Okinoshima Island has unveiled an ornately decorated iron spear from the late Kofun...

A farmer picking up ‘trash’ in field in Norway discovered a rare Viking Sword

1 June 2024

1 June 2024

A farmer and his son found a rare Viking sword on his family farm in Suldal, Norway. Archaeologists say this...

Deadly Omens Revealed from 4,000-year-old Babylonian Tablets

10 August 2024

10 August 2024

Researchers successfully deciphered 4,000-year-old cuneiform tablets discovered over a century ago in what is now Iraq.  The tablets, housed at...

Archaeologists Find the Missing Link of the Alphabet

15 April 2021

15 April 2021

Researchers believe that Tel Lachish pottery is the oldest of its kind found in the region, and could explain how...