Ancient settlement at Lin reveals early spread of agriculture in Europe

The ancient settlement of Lin, located near the town of Pogradec on the shores of Lake Ohrid, has emerged as a crucial archaeological site shedding light on the spread of agriculture across Europe. The site, dating back 8,000 years, has provided archaeologists with valuable insights into the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to farming communities.

The European Union Office in Tirana shared images of the 8,000-year-old settlement on social media, highlighting its significance in revealing the roots of European agriculture and prehistoric land-use dynamics.

Discovery and significance

The ancient settlement of Lin, which is estimated to have been inhabited between 6200 and 4000 BCE, consisted of approximately 30 to 40 houses constructed from wood, mainly pine and willow. Home to an estimated 400-800 residents, the site offers a glimpse into life during the Neolithic period, particularly in lakeside dwellings known as pile dwellings or palafites. An ongoing Swiss-Albanian archaeological expedition has confirmed that Lin is one of the oldest lakeside settlements in Europe. It is also one of the earliest sites where agriculture began to spread into Europe from the Near East, initially via the Mediterranean and later overland, northward across the continent.

Professor Albert Hafner from the University of Bern, who is leading the project, explains that the settlement was not continuously occupied for 2,000 years. Instead, several villages were constructed on the same site over time. “The population used around 300 trees to build the settlement, essentially creating an entire forest [of piles]. The main goal of the project is to understand how agriculture developed. Organic layers in the archaeological wetlands preserve materials much better, providing crucial information about the spread of agriculture in Europe. We are tracing a key moment in this transition,” says Hafner, as his team continues underwater excavations. 

Funding and future prospects

The research is funded by the European Union through the EXPLO project, which aims to explore the dynamics and prehistoric causes of land-use changes in the cradle of European agriculture. Similar settlements in Switzerland are already part of the UNESCO World Heritage list, though they are 2,000 years younger than Lin. Professor Hafner believes that the Lin site also holds potential for such recognition, suggesting that, given Lake Ohrid’s current status as a UNESCO World Heritage site, integrating Lin into the existing project for the lake would make more sense.

Excavations have uncovered pottery and bones, and students from Germany, Austria, France, and Albania have joined forces to create a European team dedicated to preserving these prehistoric finds. The EXPLO project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) as part of the EU’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program.