Bulgarian Archaeologist Claims Finding Oldest Town in Europe

The oldest historical town in Europe is located near the saltpans in the vicinity of the Bulgarian northeastern town of Provadiya in the Varna region.

The discovery has been made by Prof. Vasil Nikolov, from the National Archaeology Institute and Museum in the capital Sofia, the Bulgarian 24 Chassa (24 Hours) daily writes Sunday.

For many years, Nikolov had been studying the Thracian mount in the yard of the Provadiya salt factory. The scientist says that it was precisely the salt production that caused the establishing of the town there over 6 500 years ago.

Prior to this discovery, archaeologists proved that this has been the location of the first salt factory in Europe.

Prehistoric people molded the spice in the shape of bars and stored it nearby. Then scientists came upon stone walls built before 4700 BC. The bastions protected from raids the produced salt, which had very high value, compared to today's oil prices.

Prof. Nikolov's discoveries have been confirmed so far by scientists from Japan, Great Britain and Germany, who follow closely research in Provadiya saltpans.