Solnizata
Solnizata ( Bulgarian Солницата , German "The Saline") was a Copper Age settlement near the town of Prowadija in eastern Bulgaria . Bulgarian archaeologists consider the place to be the oldest city in Europe .
description
Solnizata was a Neolithic salt production site more than 6 millennia ago . Their heyday was between 4700 and 4200 BC. At all times salt was a crucial raw material. The salt of Solnitsata is characterized by its particular purity. The content of sodium chloride in the brine is 67%. Brine was heated in shallow bowls to evaporate the water. The settlement was walled, but not completely different from contemporary tell settlements of the era. Even if the population is estimated at around 350 people, the archaeologist Wassil Nikolow considers Solnizata to be a place that met all the criteria of a prehistoric city. So there were two-story buildings. However, this is generally not recognized as the cultural criteria of a city were not met.
A large cluster of gold objects nearby has led archaeologists to speculate that the salt trade led to significant wealth for the residents. A gold pendant weighing 24 carats of gold was found.
The site is believed to have been destroyed by an earthquake.
For the arable population of the Neolithic , a salt supply from external sources must be assumed for nutritional reasons. The possibilities of proof for the Central European Neolithic are so far very limited.
See also
literature
- Mark Kurlansky: Salt. The stuff that changed the world. Claasen, Munich 2002. ISBN 3-546-00231-8 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Gian Volpicelli: 24 carat gold jewelery made 6600 years ago unearthed at prehistoric settlement in Bulgaria. In: The Daily Mail Online. November 20, 2015, accessed November 23, 2015 .
- ↑ Archaeologist John Chapman thinks Solnitsata Housed only about people 150th The idea that it was a town — let alone Europe's oldest town — is, in Chapman's words, "hyperbole."
Web links
Coordinates: 43 ° 7 ′ 42.3 " N , 27 ° 28 ′ 21.1" E