The prehistoric complex Provadia-Solnitsata is located approx. 7km to the south of the present day town of Provadia. It presents the remains of the oldest salt producing center in Europe (5600 – 4350 BC), which later became the first prehistoric urban center on the continent (4700 - 4350 BC). It was founded and inhabited by the earliest salt manufacturers in Europe and occupies an area of approx. 300 hectares.
Provadia - Solnitsata consists of central fortified settlement, inhabited for more than 1200 years, salt production center from the Middle and Late Chalcolith with ritual structures in it, ritual pit ground (sacrificial pit) from late Neolithic, Late and Middle Chalcolithic necropolises, Late Chalcolithic ritual field (pit sanctuary), salt obtaining facility from the end of the Chalcolithic. The complex also includes a necropolis from the Early Bronze Age, a Scythian grave (5th c. BC), a residence of a Thracian ruler from 2nd-1st c. BC and a large Thracian tomb accumulated over the following centuries.
The emergence and development of Provadia-Solnitsata complex is directly linked to the one and only rock salt deposit in the Eastern Balkans, on which it is located. Throughout almost all of late prehistory, the manufacturers of table salt held the monopoly of "white gold" over a vast region from the Carpathian Mountains to the Aegean Sea and from the Black Sea to the Central Balkans. Table salt became a strategic trading good - a booster of economic and social development. It also acquired the significance of commodity money, which is why Provadia-Solnitsata performed the functions of the first "mint" in prehistoric Europe.
The specialized production of table salt started at the beginning of the late Neolithic (about 5600 BC). The technology used was the first of its kind in Europe - salt was extracted by evaporating salt spring water in ceramic bowls until dry salt was obtained. Due to the exceptional technological inovation long-distance trade began flourishing.
The three successive Chalcolithic stone fortification systems around the settlement were built in order to protect the people and their wealth obtained by the salt producing and trading, i.e. they protected the first European "mint". So far, there is no record of such a stone citadel dating to the 5th millennium BC in Europe, which, among other things, is an incredible achievement in military theory and architecture.
Archaeological studies of the prehistoric salt producing and urban center Provadia - Solnitsata began in 2005 and continued for 20 archaeological seasons. They were carried out by a large team of archaeologists from the National Archaeological Institute and Museum of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Provadia history museum, from museums throughout the country, specialists from different scientific and technical fields from institutes and universities in Bulgaria, Belgium, Germany, France, Serbia, The UK, USA and Japan as well as from Bulgarian and foreign students.
The findings are kept in Provadia history museum where Provadia-Solnitsata special exposition is displayed.
Free admission!
Opening times:
August - October: 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. tours are repeated every hour
Tours are led in Bulgarian language (tours in English are available upon request)
Visits outside the specific period are available upon request and depend on the weather conditions (booking in advance required).
Contact details:
Address: Provadia - Solnitsata, 904, 9200
tel.: +359896990242, email: provadia.solnitsata@gmail.com
www.provadia-solnitsata.com
