A settlement area from the pre-historic period has been found in the Dardanelles, according to the head of Troy excavations, Associate Professor Rüstem Aslan.

"We have found a prehistoric settlement dating back to 5,000 B.C. But only 5 percent of the settlement exists," said Aslan. The archaeology team examined the coast from the entrance of the Dardanelles to Çanakkale city center, he said. "The coastal excavations had been finished and we unearthed something unexpected around Bozköy."

The settlement was 2,000 years older than Troy, Aslan said. "We know that almost all settlements older than 5,000 years ago were established on high plateaus." The reason for the settlement pattern in high places has been questioned, he said. "This discovery gives us important clues that people settled deliberately because of the rise and fall of the sea," he added.

Aslan said it was the first time that such a settlement was found in the Dardanelles and there is no information about this settlement in any map or document. "We can easily see remains of a 7,000-year-old lost settlement here," he said. "We can call this place a lost city."