Croatia - Road Built 7,000 Years Ago Found at The Bottom of The Mediterranean Sea   Science Alert - May 10, 2023

Archaeologists have unearthed the remnants of a 7,000-year-old road hidden beneath layers of sea mud off the southern Croatian coast. Made at the sunken Neolithic site of Soline, this exciting find may once have once an artificial island, the ancient site of Soline was discovered in 2021 by archaeologist Mate Parica of the University of Zadar in Croatia while he was analyzing satellite images of the water area around Korcula.

After spotting something he thought might be human-made on the ocean floor, Parica and a colleague dove to investigate.

At a depth of 4 to 5 meters (13 to 16 feet) in the Mediterranean's Adriatic Sea, they found stone walls that may have once been part of an ancient settlement. The landmass it was built upon was separated from the main island by a narrow strip of land.

The fortunate thing is that this area, unlike most parts of the Mediterranean, is safe from big waves as many islands protect the coast. That certainly helped preserve the site from natural destruction.

Researchers think that the Neolithic Hvar culture, which once inhabited the eastern Adriatic, constructed the now-submerged Soline settlement and the ancient passageway that connected the islands.

Through radiocarbon analysis of preserved wood, the entire settlement was estimated to date back to approximately 4,900 BCE. People walked on this road almost 7,000 years ago.

The same research team has discovered another underwater settlement on the opposite side of the island that is strikingly similar to Soline and produces some intriguing Stone Age artifacts.

Intriguing structures beneath the bay's waters showed an almost identical settlement submerged at a depth of 4 to 5 meters. Neolithic artifacts such as cream blades, stone [axes] and fragments of sacrifice were found at the site. The new settlement finds, like those at Soline and its connecting road, seem to have ties to the Hvar culture.

Around 12,000 years ago, the Neolithic era, also known as the new Stone Age, emerged in some parts of the world as we gradually transitioned from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle into farming and animal domestication, resulting in more permanent settlements of communities.

Multiple archaeological finds, skeletal remains, artifacts, computational modeling of genetic patterns, and many other sources such as 7,200-year-old Croatian cheese, contribute to our knowledge of Neolithic humans.

But island settlements from the Neolithic period aren't found as often. So these are exciting finds for archaeologists, showing how our ancestors could adapt to different environments and build roads between them.