The underwater investigations conducted in Bay of the Bones give rich material and information for the life of prehistoric people who lived in these areas. The divers found 6.000 wooden piles at the bottom of the lake, together with plenty of other artifacts and bones. That is the reason why one of the names of this museum is the “Bay of Bones”. Another interesting fact is that the divers found bones from animals only, they didn’t find any human bones. An explanation for this is that in that time human bodies were burned. All the material that the divers found dates back to Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age from 1.200 B.C. to 700 B.C. At that time, the settlement was three times bigger than the replica of the settlement which can nowadays be visited. The platform is connected to land by a wooden bridge. In the time of the prehistoric people, there was also a bridge, but back then the bridge was mobile. With this mobile bridge, the prehistoric people could defend and protect themselves from the dangers that came from the ground. As soon as the construction of this museum was completed, it has become one of the most visited museums in Macedonia, so the government of the Republic of Macedonia decided to expand this museum. In 2010, the settlement on the water was expanded and 16 more prehistoric houses were built.
You can also see pictures and presentations of the original settlement, which is still at the bottom of the lake. For the visitors who want to see the original underwater settlement, there is a scuba-diving center next to the museum building. There is a working coffee bar where visitors can enjoy coffee and drinks with amazing views of the settlement and the Ohrid lake. After visiting the settlement and discovering how people lived back in prehistory, the visitors can continue their journey to the hill above the settlement where the Roman fortress was founded. The fortress is part of the museum complex “Bay of Bones” and it dates back to the 3rd century A.D. The fortress offers gorgeous views of the prehistoric settlement, Ohrid lake, and the mountain Galichica. There are picnic areas in the fortress, as well. These prehistoric settlements and the way of life of these prehistoric people from these areas are also described by Herodotus in one of the chapters from his books: