Albanian Ohrid Lake Coast

Beneath the turquoise waters of Lake Ohrid, the "Pearl of the Balkans", scientists have uncovered what may be one of Europe's earliest sedentary communities, and are trying to solve the mystery of why it sheltered behind a fortress of defensive spikes.

The archaeologists, who have been working in this field for a few years, say the discoveries confirm the earliest known practise of agriculture near the lake.

The discoveries have attracted the attention of the wider community, and the Albanian community living in Switzerland has organised a meeting with one of the best-known archaeologists on the team to discuss them.

A research team from the University of Bern has managed to precisely date pile dwellings on the banks of Lake Ohrid in the south-western Balkans for the first time: they came into being in the middle of the 5th millennium BC. The region around the oldest lake in Europe played a key role in the proliferation of agriculture.

The UN cultural organisation, UNESCO, on Friday gave North Macedonia two more years to take action to properly protect the heritage of the lakeside city of Ohrid and its surroundings - or be added to the list of World Heritage Sites in Danger.

Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said that North Macedonia is acting to preserve the lakeside town of Ohrid and its surroundings, a UNESCO world heritage site, after a critical report from the UN cultural body on Monday.

Ahead of a planned UNESCO inspection due in November, tasked at assessing progress in protecting the natural and cultural heritage of the Ohrid region, North Macedonia has drafted a plan to protect the area and prevent it from being put on the list of "World Heritage Sites in Danger".

After UNESCO threatened to put the lakeside town of Ohrid and the surrounding area on its list of endangered sites, mainly citing its persistent problem with illegal construction, the local authorities promised swift action.