A 7,000-year-old settlement and road discovered at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea

Off the coast of the Croatian island of Korcula by scientistsan amazing archaeological find was made - a flooded stone age road that once connected the island with the ancient settlement of Soline. This settlement is now also located under the waters of the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of about 4-5 meters. The age of the settlement, according to scientists, is 4900 years. However, the road turned out to be several thousand years older, and there is no explanation for this yet. Soline was first discovered on satellite images back in 2021. Since then, scientists have not stopped underwater excavations, which made it possible to discover not only the road, but also the second flooded city with many Stone Age artifacts.

Near the coast of the island of Korcula, scientists have discovered an ancient road almost 7,000 years old

Content

• 1 Ancient flooded settlement
• 2 Road at the bottom of the Mediterranean
• 3 Scientists have discovered a flooded ancient settlement
• 4 Why ancient cities were under water

Ancient flooded settlement

Studying satellite images in 2021, scientistsdrew attention to the unusual bottom topography near the island in the Adriatic Sea. The team of archaeologists immediately took their diving equipment with them and set off to explore the bottom. As it turned out, the pictures did not deceive them. In the Adriatic Sea (a section of the Mediterranean), the team discovered stone walls that were the ruins of an ancient city.

Due to the fact that in this region of the Mediterraneanthere are no powerful waves in the sea, many stone walls have been preserved in relatively good condition. Radiocarbon analysis showed that the age of artifacts preserved at the bottom is 4900 years. According to researchers, the settlement could have been built by the Neolithic culture of Hvar, who inhabited the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

The coast of the island of Korcula, where a flooded ancient settlement and a road were discovered

Road at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea

In the course of further studies of the sea areanear the island of Korcula, archaeologists also discovered a road about four meters wide. It was built from carefully laid stone slabs. Currently, the road is covered with a thick layer of silt, which is not surprising for a prehistoric structure that has been under water for hundreds of years.

But the most interesting thing is that the road, as we saidhigher, turned out to be more ancient than the settlement. Radiocarbon dating of some wooden elements showed that it was built in 4900 BC. That is, its age, according to a statement from the University of Zadar, is almost 7,000 years.

The road is currently at depth 4meters. On it, people moved between the sunken settlement of Soline and the island of Korcula. But, as it turned out, this was not the only surprise that awaited archaeologists in the Adrian Sea.

Scientists have discovered a flooded ancient settlement

On the opposite side of the island fromSoline archaeologists have found a second flooded settlement. According to scientists, it is strikingly similar to the settlement discovered in 2021. On its territory, archaeologists managed to find many artifacts, such as flint blades, axes, millstones, etc. All items indicate that Soline and the new settlement are associated with the Hvar culture.

The current findings are of great importance for science.They belong to the Neolithic era, which is also called the “new stone age”, which began 12 thousand years ago. It is believed that during this period people switched from hunting and gathering to agriculture and animal husbandry. This allowed our ancestors to stop leading a nomadic lifestyle and start building permanent settlements.

We learn about the life of people in the Neolithic periodthanks to numerous artifacts and ruins of ancient structures. however, they all tell about the life of people on the continents. Island settlements are extremely rare, which makes the current finds very valuable. They perfectly demonstrate how our ancestors could adapt to different conditions and even build roads between settlements on a small piece of land.

There is also a flooded city at the bottom of the Black Sea

Why ancient cities were under water

Finally, we recall that the flooded ancientThere are settlements not only in the Mediterranean Sea. For example, a few years ago, at the bottom of the Black Sea, archaeologists discovered an ancient coastline at a depth of about 110 meters. Along it are wooden buildings that are perfectly preserved. By the way, with the flooding of the coastal zone around the Black Sea, some scientists associate the legendary biblical story of the global flood.

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Such settlements are also found at the bottom of other seas.Why they ended up under water is not difficult to guess. During the end of the last ice age, the water level began to rise due to the melting of glaciers. As a result, many coastal areas were flooded and even the land bridge between North America and Eurasia. Now only two islands remain from it - Ratmanov and Kruzenshtern, on which the Eskimos still live. But this is a completely different story, which you can read by clicking on the link.