The lands of the Balkan Peninsula and part of modern Bulgaria were the first centre of the Neolithic Revolution in Europe around 9000 years ago. Like the Greek colonists of antiquity, the first agriculturists and stockbreeders to come to Europe from Anatolia settled in the marshy valleys and lowlands of the Balkans. They created a highly developed culture, comparable to those of the Middle Eastern Neolithic civilizations. A multitude of settlements from this period have also been discovered in Bulgaria (similar to the Neolithic "city" of Chatalhyuyuk in Turkey), which existed in the same location over a period of several thousand years, and as a result formed their own sort of mounds - tells. One of the best examples of the material culture and the homes of these people can be seen in the Neolithic Dwellings Museum in Stara Zagora, which maintains two exceptionally well-preserved houses from 7500 years ago.
