Solnitsata (, "The Saltworks") was a prehistoric town located in present-day

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, near the modern city of

Provadia Provadia ( ) is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, part of Varna Province, located in a deep karst gorge (Provadia syncline) along the Provadiya River not far from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is the administrative centre of Provadia Municipal ...

. It is the oldest salt production center in continental Europe (5500‑4200 BC). It was the first prehistoric urban center in Europe (4700‑4200 BC) consisting of a salt production center, Solnitsata was a fortified stone settlement - citadelle, inner and outer city with pottery production site and the site of a

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

production facility approximately six millennia ago; it flourished ca 4700–4200 BC. The settlement was walled to protect the salt, a crucial commodity in antiquity. Although its population has been estimated at only 350, archaeologist Vassil Nikolov argues that it meets established criteria as a prehistoric

proto-city A proto-city is a large, dense Neolithic settlement that is largely distinguished from a city by its lack of planning and centralized rule. The term mega-sites is also used. While the precise classification of many sites considered proto-cities ...

. Salt production drove Solnitsata's economy, and the town is believed to have supplied salt throughout the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. A large collection of

gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

objects nearby has led archaeologists to consider that this trade resulted in great wealth for the town's residents —

Varna Necropolis The Varna Necropolis (), or Varna Cemetery, is a burial site in the western industrial zone of Varna, Bulgaria, Varna (approximately half a kilometre from Lake Varna and 4 km from the city centre), internationally considered one of the key a ...

. Nearby is the ancient Anhialos, whose livelihood was the extraction of sea salt. The extraction technology can be seen in the Salt Museum, Pomorie. The town is believed to have been destroyed by an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

. File:Провадия - солницата.jpg, Site of Solnitsata File:Solnitsata 4700 - 4200 B.C..jpg, Artist's reconstruction

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* Ancient cities of the Balkans Archaeological sites in Bulgaria History of Varna Province Destroyed populated places Geography of Varna Province Prehistoric sites in Bulgaria Populated places established in the 5th millennium BC {{Bulgaria-stub

See also

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