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Vlora, the first Neanderthal site in Albania! Archaeologists discover stone tools dating back over 40 thousand years!

2024-12-20 08:37:52Histori SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Vlora, the first Neanderthal site in Albania! Archaeologists discover stone
Dalani i Vogël and a piece of stone tool discovered during the excavations

An international team, coordinated by the National Research Council, Institute of Environmental Geology and Geotechnical Engineering (CNR-IGAG) – and by the Department of Humanistic Studies of the University of Ferrara, in collaboration with the Institute of Albanian Archaeology, has discovered the first documented Neanderthal site in Albania. The discovery, made in the Dalani i Vogël area, on the Adriatic coast in the Vlora area, represents an important step in the study of the Quaternary and in the understanding of the survival dynamics of the last Neanderthals in Europe.

The Small Dalani, preserved within fluvial deposits exposed by marine erosion, has been identified by local researchers and subjected to in-depth investigations thanks to an interdisciplinary approach. The study, recently published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, included microbotanical, micropaleontological, geological and archaeological analyses. The collected data allowed the reconstruction of the environmental evolution of the area over the last 40,000 years, revealing a detailed picture of the climatic conditions and available resources during the era when Neanderthals populated the region.

Thanks to the OSL (Optical Stimulated Luminescence) dating method, a technique used to determine the age of sedimentary or mineral materials containing light-sensitive grains, the deposit containing the fragmented stone tools has been dated to just over 40,000 years ago. Fossil pollen analyses have made it possible to identify an environment initially characterized by open vegetation, which evolved into a steppe at the end of the last glaciation. This environmental context, rich in food resources, may have provided shelter for Neanderthals in the southern Balkans until their final extinction from Europe.

According to Professor Marco Peresani, research coordinator at the Department of Humanistic Studies of the University of Ferrara, assisted by Doctor Davide Delpiano, “The importance of Dalani i Vogël lies in the fact that it is the first Neanderthal site in Albania documented, dated and studied with modern and multidisciplinary methods.” Furthermore, this site confirms that in the southern Balkans, continuous food sources during critical moments of the Pleistocene supported Neanderthal groups in a kind of shelter zone.

The discovery is the result of more than a decade of research carried out within the framework of internationalization initiatives funded by Unife. The research, conducted in close collaboration with the Department of Prehistory of the Institute of Archaeology at the Academy of Albanian Studies, has seen the important contribution of Professor Ilir Gjipali and Doctor Rudenc Ruka.

Research at the Dalani i Vogël site will continue with further archaeological excavations and in-depth studies of the caves of southern Albania. These projects promise to further expand knowledge about the role of the Balkans as a refuge area for Neanderthals and about the transition process towards the arrival of the first sapiens in Europe.


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