Archaeologist discovers 6k year-old island settlement off Croatian coast (2021)

LUMBARDA, Croatia, June 24 - Archaeologist Mate Parica was examining satellite images of Croatia's coastline when he spotted something unusual. The image showed a large, shallow area on the seabed jutting out from the eastern shore of the island of Korcula. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comParica and a colleague decided to dive at the site and discovered what they believe is a Neolithic settlement from around 4,500 years BC, built on a small piece of land that was connected to the main island by a narrow strip. The pair found the remains of stone walls which had surrounded the settlement, as well as tools and other objects used by the inhabitants. Marta Kalebota who runs the archaeological collection in the Korcula town museum, said the settlement's location was highly unusual. "We are not aware at the moment of a similar finding elsewhere that a Neolithic settlement was built on an islet connected with a narrow strip of land," she said. Parica also said the island settlement discovery was atypical and that Neolithic finds were mostly made in caves.