Prehistoric pile dwellings

Ljubljana Marshes boast a rich and complex history. 6.500 years ago there was a shallow lake covering the area, and people settled on it - they built so called pile dwellings, platforms and houses bitld on stilts, driven deep into lake bottom.

Many of these pile dwellings were found around the river Ižica, one of the few rivers in Ljubljana Marshes whose course remains natural.

(Ižica flows in the eastern part of Ljubljana Marshes, as seen from a kite.)

The pile dwellings were abandoned long ago, when the lake turned into vast marshes and bogs. But the marshy soil preserved many fascinating remains of pile-dwellers culture - like the world's oldest wooden wheel, first metalworking tools, and mysterious earthenware idols.

The pile dwellings of Ljubljana Marshes are a UNESCO World Heritage site, together with similar prehistoric pile dwellings sites around the Alps, in France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Italy.

All photos taken with Canon A810 on a Royal 69 sled kite.