The stiff of a Stone Ageroadhave been discovered at the submerged Neolithic situation of Soline , which sits off the coast of a Croatian island called Korčula . According to researchers , the ancientpassagewayonce relate the island to a settlement that sit down on an artificial landmass but now lies some 4 to 5 meters ( 13 to 16 feet ) beneath the Adriatic Sea in the Mediterranean .
Archaeologistsfirst identified the corpse of Solineby see satellite imagery of the waters around Korčula in 2021 . After noticing an strange feature on the sea floor , researchers grab their snorkels and flippers and went in for a closer look .
While exploring , they come across the wall of an ancient colonization that appeared to be connect to the main island by a narrow-minded slip of land . Now underwater , the site is believed to have been build by the Neolithic Hvar culture which once occupied the eastern Adriatic .
And while organic artifacts from Soline have been carbon date to around 4,900 years ago , the researchers say the newly attain road is probably several millennia sure-enough . Made of cautiously stacked pit slab and measuring some 4 meters wide ( 13 understructure ) , the road was found buried beneath layers of clay on the seafloor .
According to astatementreleased by the University of Zadar , the ancient route once connected Soline to Korčula and may have been in use as former as 7,000 years ago . Like the residuum of the settlement , the paved walkway has survived for millennia thanks to the fact that the Croatian coast is dotted with islands that protect the area from large moving ridge .
While announcing the discovery of the Neolithic road , researcher also bring out point of their ongoing view around Gradina Bay on the diametrical side of Korčula . Here , the team has recently identify a 2d submerse settlement at a similar profoundness to Soline , which appear almost identical to the internet site discover two years ago .
Initial excavations of these submersed ruins have return numerous Stone Age artefact , including flint blades , Lucy Stone axes , and fragment of millstone . Like those found at Soline , these of late discovered items appear to be associated with the Hvar culture .
