Provadiya-Solnitsata ( Bulgarian: Solnitsata ) is a prehistoric settlement near the modern city of Provadia on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria , one of the earliest known ancient urban settlements in Europe [1] .
Excavations here have been conducted since 2005 by researchers from the Bulgarian National Institute of Archeology. The remains of two-story houses, places of worship and high walls erected at the turn of the Neolithic and Eneolithic period were discovered in 4700–4200 BC. e. [1] The population of the town is estimated at 350 people [2] , but the archaeologist Vasil Nikolov believes that satisfies all the criteria of the prehistoric city of Provadiya-Solnitsata [3] .
Not far from the settlement, burial grounds have been found that are currently not yet known. For the study of tombs, according to their discoverers, the efforts of several generations of researchers will be required - the thing is that an unconventional funeral rite was widespread in this settlement: the bodies of the dead were cut along the waistline, and then only the upper part was buried.
The fortification was given the provadiya-Solnitsata conventional name because it was a large center for the production of table salt . Here are found the most ancient saltworks in Europe and Asia Minor. To get this product, then valued at its weight in gold [2] , the inhabitants of the settlement began around 5500 BC. e. ( Karanovo period III — IV) [4] . At the same time, water from a local salt source was evaporated in massive adobe-shaped stoves (at first the stoves were located directly in residential buildings, later they were moved outside the settlement). The powerful walls of the settlement were necessary to protect the salt reserves from the encroachments of enemies [1] .
One load in the furnace gave approximately 25 kilograms of salt briquettes. During the Middle and Late Eneolithic period (the culture of Hamanjiy IV, 4700–4500 BC; Varna culture , 4500–4200 BC), the production of salt reached an industrial scale, increasing to 4–5 tons.
In Provadiya-Solnitsat, the world's first gold jewelry was made (about three thousand copies of these jewelry were found) [4] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Found the oldest European settlement, 2013 , p. 32.
- ↑ 1 2 Squires, Nick. Archaeologists find Europe's most prehistoric town // The Daily Telegraph, October 31, 2012.
- ↑ Nikolov, Vassil. Salt, early complex society, urbanization: Provadia-Solnitsata (5500–4200 BC) (Abstract) // Bulgarian Academy of Sciences .
- ↑ 1 2 Maugh II, Thomas H. Bulgarians find the oldest European town, a salt production center // The Los Angeles Times, 1 November 2012.
Literature
- Found the oldest European settlement // Geo . - 2013. - No. 03 (180) . - S. 32 .