'Oldest town' in Europe was a settlement worth its salt
Archaeologists believe large salt production site found in eastern Bulgaria may explain riches discovered in surrounding region
Archaeologists in eastern Bulgaria say they have unearthed the oldest prehistoric town ever found in Europe and an ancient salt production site that may explain massive riches discovered in the region.
Excavations at the site near the modern-day town of Provadia have so far uncovered the remains of a settlement of two-storey houses, a series of pits used for rituals as well as parts of a gate, bastion structures and three later fortification walls - all carbon dated between the middle and late Chalcolithic age from 4700BC to 4200BC.
"We are not talking about a town like the Greek city-states, ancient Rome or medieval settlements, but about what archaeologists agree constituted a town in the fifth millennium BC," said Dr Vasil Nikolov, a researcher with Bulgaria's National Institute of Archaeology with Museum.
Nikolov and his team have worked since 2005 to excavate the Provadia-Solnitsata settlement, located near the Black Sea resort of Varna.
A small necropolis, or burial ground, was also found this year, but has yet to be studied extensively and could keep archaeologists busy for generations.