Solnitsata

{{Infobox ancient site

| name = Solnitsata

| native_name = Солницата

| native_name_lang = bul

| settlement_type =

| image_map =

| map_alt =

| map_caption =

| map_type = Bulgaria

| coordinates = {{coord|43.1284|N|27.4725|E|source:wikidata|display=inline,title}}

| coor_pinpoint =

| coordinates_footnotes =

| location = Bulgaria

| region = Varna

| type = Prehistoric settlement (proto-city)

| part_of =

| length = 110 m

| width = 110 m

| area =

| height =

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| built =

| abandoned =

| epochs = Neolithic, Chalcolithic

| cultures = Karanovo culture, Hamangia culture, Varna culture, Gumelnița–Karanovo culture

| dependency_of =

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| condition = ruins

| ownership =

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| public_access =

| website = https://provadia-solnitsata.com/en

}}

Solnitsata ({{langx|bg|Солницата}}, "The Saltworks") was a prehistoric town located in present-day Bulgaria, near the modern city of Provadia. It is the oldest salt production center in continental Europe (5500‑4200 BC).V Nikolov, The Prehistoric Salt-Production and Urban Center of Provadia-Solnitsata, Northeastern Bulgaria. Méditerranée, 126 (January 2016): pp. 71–78. https://doi.org/10.4000/mediterranee.8246. It was the first prehistoric urban center in Europe (4700‑4200 BC) consisting of a salt production center, Solnitsata was a fortified stone settlement - citadelle, inner and outer city with pottery production site and the site of a salt production facility approximately six millennia ago;{{cite news |title=Bulgarians find oldest European town, a salt production center |first=Thomas H. |last=Maugh II |url=https://www.latimes.com/science/la-xpm-2012-nov-01-la-sci-sn-oldest-european-town-20121101-story.html |newspaper=The Los Angeles Times |date=1 November 2012 |accessdate=1 November 2012}} it flourished ca 4700–4200 BC.[https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20120702232530/http://www.historyofinformation.com/expanded.php?category=Survival+of+Information Survival of Information: the earliest prehistoric town in Europe ] The settlement was walled to protect the salt, a crucial commodity in antiquity.{{cite news |title=Archaeologists find Europe's most prehistoric town |first=Nick |last=Squires |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/bulgaria/9646541/Bulgaria-archaeologists-find-Europes-most-prehistoric-town-Provadia-Solnitsata.html |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |date=31 October 2012 |accessdate=1 November 2012}} Although its population has been estimated at only 350, archaeologist Vassil Nikolov argues that it meets established criteria as a prehistoric proto-city.{{cite web |url=http://naim.bg/contentFiles/ARH_2012_1_res1.pdf |title=Salt, early complex society, urbanization: Provadia-Solnitsata (5500-4200 BC) (Abstract) |first=Vassil |last=Nikolov |publisher=Bulgarian Academy of Sciences |accessdate=1 November 2012}}

Salt production drove Solnitsata's economy, and the town is believed to have supplied salt throughout the Balkans. A large collection of gold objects nearby has led archaeologists to consider that this trade resulted in great wealth for the town's residents — Varna Necropolis. Nearby is the ancient Anhialos, whose livelihood was the extraction of sea salt. The extraction technology can be seen in the Salt Museum, Pomorie.

The town is believed to have been destroyed by an earthquake.{{cite conference |first1=Boyko |last1=Ranguelov |first2=Vassil |last2=Nikolov |title=Ancient earthquake data extraction by archeological findings |conference=EGU General Assembly 2010. 2–7 May 2010. Vienna, Austria |year=2010 |bibcode=2010EGUGA..12.6393R}}

File:Провадия - солницата.jpg|Site of Solnitsata

File:Solnitsata 4700 - 4200 B.C..jpg|Artist's reconstruction