A Perfect Circle on the Steppe, Burned by Its Own People: The Story of Arkaim
Nearly 4,000 years ago on the Ural steppe, people built a perfectly circular fortified town, raced the first chariots, then burned it down.
Europe’s Oldest Town May Have Been Built on Salt: The Story of Solnitsata
More than 6,000 years ago in Bulgaria, a fortified town grew rich boiling brine into salt, and may be the oldest town in Europe.
The Bulgarian Mound That Became the Master Clock of European Prehistory: The Story of Karanovo
A mound in central Bulgaria records over 3,000 years of continuous village life, and gives its name to the chronology of the Balkans.
The Hill in Thessaly Where Europe First Built a Town: The Story of Sesklo
Nearly 9,000 years ago, farmers on a hill in central Greece built what may be the oldest town in Europe.
The Lakeside Village Whose Mud Preserved a 7,000-Year-Old Mystery: The Story of Dispilio
On a lake in northern Greece, waterlogged mud preserved a Neolithic village, and a wooden tablet that may bear some of the world’s oldest signs.
The Neolithic Village Built as a Set of Concentric Rings: The Story of Dimini
Nearly 6,000 years ago in Thessaly, a community built its home as a series of nested stone rings converging on a central hall.
Where the First Modern Europeans Built Houses From Mammoth Bones: The Story of Kostenki
On the Don River, some of Europe’s first modern humans hunted mammoths, carved figurines, and built homes of bone 40,000 years ago.
