May 17, 2023: The route is said to have connected the Croatian island's coast with the submerged ancient settlement of the Hvar civilization. Continue reading to know more!
A crew has discovered a 7000-year-old road buried at the bottom of the sea, which ranks as one of the most unanticipated archaeological discoveries ever!
The route was found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea, concealed by mud deposits.
The route is said to have connected the Croatian island of Korcula's coast with the submerged ancient settlement of the Hvar civilization. Stone pavers that were formerly a part of a connection that was four metres wide have been meticulously placed to form the road.
Researchers from the University of Zadar in Croatia wrote on Facebook that the radiocarbon dating of preserved wood discovered during earlier archaeological campaigns revealed that the settlement was around 4,900 years before Christ and that people had been using these roads for travelling as far back as 7000 years. A technique called radiocarbon dating makes use of the characteristics of radiocarbon to estimate the age of an object made of organic material.
The Hvar civilization, who were expert farmers and herders residing in small, remote villages along the coast and on adjacent islands, first settled in the area in the Neolithic period, that is, approximately in 5000 BCE. One of the biggest and best-preserved Hvar culture sites in the area is Soline, which provides important insights into the routines and social structures of these early agricultural settlements.
Even though the discovery was made at the bottom of the sea, land research was being conducted close to Gradina Bay at Vela Luka on the island of Korcula. An almost exact replica of the village at Soline was discovered at a depth of 4 to 5 metres, researchers said in a Facebook status update.
“The archaeological team diving at the Soline site inspected the central part of the Gradina bay, and to everyone's delight, the existence of a settlement almost identical to the one at Soline was determined at a depth of 4 to 5 metres,” they wrote. At the location, Neolithic artefacts like millstone pieces, flint blades, and stone axes have also been discovered.
One of the most outstanding aspects of the Soline site is its enormous system of terraced fields, which were utilised for agriculture, in addition to the concrete building. The fields were thoughtfully planned to take use of the island's rocky, steep topography. They were reinforced by stone walls and irrigation systems, which increased the land's production.
According to researchers, the Soline site has not yet undergone comprehensive excavation, and there is still much about the Hvar culture and its way of life that we do not understand.
