Archaeologists find Europe's most prehistoric town

 

Archaeologists in Bulgaria believe they have discovered Europe's oldest prehistoric town, a settlement that was founded nearly 5,000 years before the birth of Christ.

Remains of the ancient settlement, including the ruins of two-storey houses, fortification walls and parts of a gate, have been unearthed near the modern-day town of Provadia, close to the Black Sea resort of Varna.

It dates back to between 4,700 and 4,200BC – more than a millennium before the start of Greece's ancient civilisation.
The "town", known as Provadia-Solnitsata, was small by modern standards and would have had around 350 inhabitants.

Archaeologists found a site where salt was produced from nearby rock-salt deposits, some of the most extensive in southeast Europe.Salt was an extremely valued commodity in ancient times, as it was both necessary for people's lives and was used as a method of trade and currency starting from the sixth millennium BC up to 600 BC