A neolithic settlement in Sofia’s Slatina district is about to become one of Bulgaria’s most prominent visitor attractions after the capital’s mayor announced plans to turn the site into a tourist destination.

The 8,000-year-old settlement, the oldest in the Sofia valley, was partially destroyed in the 1970s during the development of the Red Banner sports complex and later the city’s tramway line, but archaeological excavations have revealed nine buildings still intact on the millenia-old site.

The municipality will soon set out plans for a project uncovering and conserving the ancient ruins and ennobling the area, with further plans to devise a special tourist route through the settlement.

Finds from the site – including axes, sharpening stones, flint, knives and more, will be unveiled on 17 September at the new Sofia Museum of History, while a tourist centre will be built next to the settlement.

The municipality's culture programme will fund the development and conservation project, though costs have not been revealed.

Announcing the plans, Sofia mayor, Yordanka Fandakova, said that the municipality's culture programme will fund the development and conservation project, which is costing BGN8m (US$4.6m, €4.1m, £3m). The mayor added that existing plans to uncover the palace of Emperor Constantine will continue in Q3 2016.