Lake Ohrid, Beautiful Bucket List Location
Imagine swimming in the pristine waters of Lake Ohrid while enjoying the trip of a lifetime.
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Above the surface, tourists and locals have developed a thriving community around the stunning body of water that borders Albania and Northern Macedonia. The area is serene and picture-perfect, making it an ideal place to visit. But the depths of the lake have a much bigger story to tell.
Many Mysteries From the Past Lie Beneath
Until recently, nobody knew the secrets of Lake Ohrid’s past. Thousands of years ago, the shoreline was home to a historic village of settlers who lived off the land.
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These settlers meticulously crafted wooden spikes out of an entire forest of trees to protect themselves from nearby threats. Every day was a struggle to survive and archeologists are diligently working to uncover more details about the past.
Divers and Archaeologists Found the Forgotten Village
Deep below the waters of Lake Ohrid lies a piece of history that is the first of its kind. An entire village was found by divers and a team of Albanian and Swiss archaeologists.
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The ancient settlement has a deep history, dating as far back as 5,800-6,000 BC. The sunken village is nestled beneath the waters that border Albania and Macedonia.
Impressive Wall of Wooden Spikes Lined the Perimeter
The ancient residents of the Lin community were very resourceful, to say the least. Ancient settlers of the Albanian community fashioned a fortress of spikes around their land in order to keep intruders at bay.
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More than 100,000 spikes lined the area as a defensive wall, though archeologists don’t know who (or what) exactly they were trying to keep out. Could it have been a vicious predator? Or perhaps an army or enemies? The answer is still unclear.
So Much to Uncover About the Mysterious Village
The discovery of the ancient settlement was a long time coming. Research had been underway in the vicinity for four years before archaeologists came across the lost village.
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The University of Bern in Switzerland is spearheading the research project to find out more about what other mysteries are hiding at the bottom of the water. Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes in the world, and now scientists believe that the re-discovered settlement has proven to be much older than they anticipated.
Researchers Find Wooden Stilts Made From Trees
After carefully discovering the area and samples of artifacts pulled from the lake, scientists have determined that the villagers were advanced in the “development of agriculture, craftsmanship and fishing.”
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Underwater divers also located stilts made from tree trunks, which researchers believe were once used as foundations for their homes. Lots more research needs to be done to determine if the housing structures were built in marshy wetlands or deeper parts of Lake Ohrid. Thousands of years later, the stilts have been buried beneath the lakebed.
Other Discoveries Are Found Below Lake Ohrid
Divers also found other remains during their trips to the bottom of the lake. They brought back remnants of bones, plants, and even seeds. These discoveries indicated that the villagers likely grew crops and raised animals for food, much like modern-day farmers would.
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As the EXPLO Project is pioneering continued research efforts, excavation leader Albert Hafner has seen enough evidence to believe the villager’s existence was “probably a permanent struggle for survival.”
Every Detail Brings Researchers Closer to Uncovering What Life Was Like
Knowing for certain that the ancient settlers harvested crops and cultivated livestock is an important factor.
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These details help researchers paint a clearer picture of what life looked like 8,5000 years ago. Hafner also concluded that the residents of the village “tried to be as diversified as possible,” based on their agriculture and propensity for hunting, fishing, and foraging for plants.
Buildings on Stilts Were Common in Ancient Europe
Researchers also have several running theories for why the villagers constructed their homes on stilts. One possibility is that it made it easier for them to travel around the lake in canoes.
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Another possibility is that surrounding their village with water would create difficulty for enemies to attack them. Either way, building homes on stilts was a common thing to do thousands of years ago in Europe.
The Villagers Were Skilled Survivalists
The archaeological finds in Lake Ohrid’s waters have led scientists to believe that the villagers adapted well to their surroundings.
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Evidence such as the wooden stilts and their sharp spiked security system showed they were a masterful community of wilderness navigators. “Building their village on stilts was a complex task, very complicated, very difficult, and it’s important to understand why these people made this choice,” said archaeologist Adrian Anastasi.
Researching the Village Will Take Many Years to Complete
Scientists and archaeologists want to perform a thorough investigation at the bottom of Lake Ohrid to determine exactly what daily life was like more than 8,500 years ago.
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Scientists and archaeologists want to perform a thorough investigation at the bottom of Lake Ohrid to determine exactly what daily life was like more than 8,500 years ago.