Solnitsata, the Prehistoric Salt Town near Provadia
Solnitsata (“the saltworks”) is a prehistoric settlement beside the town of Provadia in north-eastern Bulgaria, dated to about 5500–4200 BCE. It grew rich on salt from nearby springs and was ringed by walls of stone. It is a rewarding stop for anyone curious about the earliest towns and trade in Europe.
Over six thousand years ago, people near today's Provadia boiled brine in clay pots behind massive stone walls. Some archaeologists call this Europe's oldest town; others do not agree.
The history of Solnitsata
Solnitsata, whose name means “the saltworks”, lies beside Provadia in north-eastern Bulgaria. People settled here around the middle of the sixth millennium BCE, and the site is usually dated to roughly 5500–4200 BCE, with its heyday between about 4700 and 4200 BCE. The attraction was brine: springs with a very high salt content rose here, given in one source as about 160–190 grams of salt per litre. The settlement was found in the 1970s by Ara Margos, and systematic excavations began in 2005 under the academician Vasil Nikolov.
The salt was won by evaporation. At first, brine was boiled in ceramic vessels over hearths and ovens inside the houses. From about 5200 BCE production moved outside the built-up area to the springs, where a large pit let many bowls be heated at once. Around 4900 BCE came a group of pits up to two metres deep and some 7.5 metres in radius, which raised the yield of one cycle from about 25 kg in an oven to about 4.5 tonnes. Around 4500 BCE, as the forest was cut down for fuel, the inhabitants turned to shallow pools where the sun evaporated the brine. Pottery fragments let archaeologists follow this change from the late Neolithic through the early to the late Chalcolithic.
Salt worked as a kind of currency in prehistoric societies, and Nikolov links the surplus built up here to the rise of early elites and to the rich burials of the Varna Necropolis, dated to about 4500–4300 BCE. Gold ornaments found at Solnitsata, among the oldest in Europe, point the same way. The settlement was protected by a defensive wall of massive stone, up to 4.3 metres thick, counted among Europe's earliest known fortifications. Researchers believe some houses had two storeys. Nikolov argues that it meets the criteria of a prehistoric proto-city, which is why it is often called the oldest town in Europe, although the German article notes that this view is not generally accepted.
The end is explained in different ways. Several sources say a strong earthquake destroyed the settlement, possibly the same one that damaged the tell at Durankulak, while the Polish article stresses that the salt springs faded and the people left around 4350 BCE. Later visitors left traces too: excavators found a 39-centimetre bone sceptre that belonged to a Scythian chieftain of the fifth century BCE. Salt kept its importance around Provadia, and a document of 1922 describes a spring with 19 per cent brine.
Curious facts about Solnitsata
- The name Solnitsata simply means “the saltworks”, and that is exactly what the settlement was.
- A new method of boiling brine in pits around 4900 BCE is said to have raised the yield of one cycle from about 25 kg to about 4.5 tonnes.
- Its stone walls, up to 4.3 metres thick, are among the earliest known fortifications in Europe.
- Gold ornaments found here are counted among the oldest in Europe and are compared with finds from Varna and Durankulak.
- Cutting down the forest for fuel pushed the salt-makers around 4500 BCE to switch to shallow pools warmed by the sun.
- Excavators found a 39-centimetre bone sceptre of a Scythian chieftain from the fifth century BCE, long after the salt town had gone.
Tours near Solnitsata
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting Solnitsata: what to know
- The sources used for this guide give no details of visiting arrangements, so check the current opening hours and access conditions before you go.
- Solnitsata lies next to Provadia; the Roman city of Marcianopolis and the Museum of Mosaics in Devnya are each about 14 km away.
- The Varna Necropolis, whose gold the Solnitsata salt trade is thought to be linked with, is about 33 km away.
- The technology of sea-salt extraction at the ancient town of Anhialos can be seen in the Salt Museum in Pomorie.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Solnitsata is
Photos of Solnitsata
Questions
What is Solnitsata?
Solnitsata is a prehistoric walled settlement near Provadia, dated to about 5500–4200 BCE. It was a centre of salt production and is often called the oldest town in Europe.
Where is Solnitsata?
It lies beside the town of Provadia in north-eastern Bulgaria. The Varna Necropolis is about 33 km away.
Is Solnitsata really the oldest town in Europe?
The excavator Vasil Nikolov argues that it meets the criteria of a prehistoric proto-city. The German article notes that this is not generally accepted, so the title is debated.
How was salt made at Solnitsata?
Brine from local springs was evaporated in ceramic vessels over fires, later in large pits, and finally in shallow pools warmed by the sun.
What happened to Solnitsata?
Several sources say a strong earthquake destroyed it, while the Polish article says the salt springs faded and people left around 4350 BCE.
What else is worth seeing near Solnitsata?
Marcianopolis and the Museum of Mosaics in Devnya are about 14 km away, and the Varna Necropolis and the Roman Thermae in Varna are 33–37 km away.
Also nearby
Marcianopolis
Devnya · Roman capital of Moesia with amphitheatre and mosaics
14 km away
Museum of Mosaics, Devnya
Devnya · Roman villa with Medusa and mythological mosaics
14 km away
Varna Necropolis
Varna · Copper Age cemetery with the “oldest gold in the world”
33 km away
Roman Thermae in Varna
Varna · the Balkans' largest Roman baths, later a prison
37 km away