Archaeologists have continued research at the Lin 3 pile-dwelling site near Pogradec for the sixth consecutive year. Albanian and foreign researchers are using advanced sampling and analysis to document the settlement’s extent and history. Researchers consider Lin 3 one of Europe’s oldest pile-dwelling sites.

This year’s research confirmed an area of about 6 hectares, making Lin 3 one of the largest such sites in the Balkans. The team combines underwater research with geophysical studies along the lakeshore to connect the settlement’s land and underwater sections. Project team leader Adrian Anastasi said laboratories in Oxford, Bern, Kiel and Copenhagen will provide information on the site and its environmental context, including vegetation and animals.

Project co-leader Martin Hinz described Lin 3 as one of Albania’s most important prehistoric settlements. He said the site dates from 5800 to 4000 BC and could provide information on early settlement, agriculture in the Balkans and its spread towards Europe. The new data are expected to expand knowledge of the settlement from the Middle Neolithic to the Chalcolithic period. Researchers will continue excavations and studies in the coming years. The underwater archaeological sites of Lin form part of UNESCO’s heritage.

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