Archaeologists Discover a 7,000-Year-Old Road Built at The Bottom of Mediterranean Sea
The invention of wheels and roads laid the foundation for the expansion of human civilization. The presence of roadways is among the markers of any thriving ancient civilization, and researchers have uncovered a 7,000-year-old road network under the sea, off the southern coast of Croatia. The road once linked an ancient settlement to the present-day Korcula Island, while the coastline protects the submerged island from natural destruction by massive waves. Archaeologist Mate Parica, who led the study, made the underwater discovery while examining satellite imagery of the coastline near Korcula. His eyes fell on the odd structure jutting out of the Mediterranean’s Adriatic Sea, according to Reuters.
Intrigued, Parica, a professor at the University of Zadar, and his colleague dived deep into the water to explore and uncover the ruins of a Neolithic settlement that existed about 4,500 years ago BC. The researchers found stone walls outlining the settlement, tools, and other ancient artifacts. "We found some ceramic objects and flint knives," he said. Moreover, a small strip of land that once connected the island with the main island of Korcula was more likely a road used by the settlers. “I thought: maybe it is natural, maybe not," Parica noted. According to an official statement on Facebook, the sunken landmass was the Neolithic site of Soline, a Hvar culture settlement.
“These are carefully arranged stone slabs that were part of a four-meter-wide communication that connected the artificially created island to the coast,” the statement added. At a depth of 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 feet), the road lay covered under layers of sea mud when the divers reached the site. The settlement was traced back to around 4,900 BC through the radiocarbon analysis of preserved wood. Marta Kalebota, head of the archaeological collection in the Korcula town museum, marked the site as highly unusual for a Neolithic era, or New Stone Age, settlement. “We are not aware at the moment of a similar finding elsewhere that a Neolithic settlement was built on an islet connected with a narrow strip of land," she explained.
Parica echoed the opinion that the discovery was atypical of Neolithic settlements, which are mostly found in ancient caves. He said, "The fortunate thing is that this area, unlike most parts of the Mediterranean, is safe from big waves as many islands protect the coast. That certainly helped preserve the site from natural destruction.” The underwater excavation was conducted by a collaboration between experts from several institutions, including the University of Zadar, Dubrovnik Museums, Kastela City Museum, Korcula City Museum, Kantharos, and the Lumbarda Blue diving center.
Likewise, on the other side of Korcula Island, lead researcher Igor Borzic had sightings of strange artifacts in the central part of Gradina Cove, where the team found flint blades, stone axes, and “fragments of millstones,” as per their social media statement. While the ancient road linked the two islands, it has also helped archaeologists and historians bridge the gap between the modern age and the otherwise rare Neolithic-era finds that provide greater insight into the hunter-gatherer lifestyle the people followed at the time.
You can follow @UniversityofZadar on Facebook for more updates on the discovery.