After a drought revealed the seawall of a Byzantine Empire harbor town near Istanbul, archeologists excavated what was a thriving ancient center. But how does it fit into the city's 1,600-year history?
This aerial shows about a third of the excavated site—a section archaeologists call the "little harbor" after the second-century B.C....[More]
Aerial of the Little Harbor:
This aerial shows about a third of the excavated site—a section archaeologists call the "little harbor" after the second-century B.C. pier shown at left. At right are newly uncovered crisscrossing roads spanning 1,500 years, the round foundations of a Greek temple, a fifth-century Byzantine church and cemetery as well as an Ottoman-era building. Hidden by trees is a newly spotted Hellenistic edifice, positioned just up the road from the harbor.
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Murat Öztürk
Palace:
The remains of a well-appointed villa continue to yield evidence of its residents' wealth. The nine-meter walls held statue nooks and ornate wall mosaics; thousands of dirt-encrusted tesserae were found this year....[More]
Palace:
The remains of a well-appointed villa continue to yield evidence of its residents' wealth. The nine-meter walls held statue nooks and ornate wall mosaics; thousands of dirt-encrusted tesserae were found this year. Milky blue marble lined the floors and an extensive water system channeled freshwater throughout. The small graves likely once held children.
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Steven Bartoo
Monastery and workshops:
Adjacent to the palace archaeologists unearthed one large building and a series of smaller ones that appear to be parts of a complex dating back to the fourth century, which included the palace, a monastery and a series of workshops for making metal, glass and jewelry....[More]
Monastery and workshops:
Adjacent to the palace archaeologists unearthed one large building and a series of smaller ones that appear to be parts of a complex dating back to the fourth century, which included the palace, a monastery and a series of workshops for making metal, glass and jewelry. The finds include smelting waste and rare jewelry molds. "From written sources it's known that Constantinopolis had jewelry workshops since the Roman and Byzantine times," Aydingün says. "Our findings may be the first-ever proof. But it is too early to claim it with some confidence. We are still checking with metalwork historians."
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Steven Bartoo
Hellenistic building:
It doesn't look like much, but archaeologists were excited to find this plaster-coated building hiding in plain sight because it provides more evidence of Bathonea's beginnings....[More]
Hellenistic building:
It doesn't look like much, but archaeologists were excited to find this plaster-coated building hiding in plain sight because it provides more evidence of Bathonea's beginnings. Adjoined to crumbling late-Ottoman buildings, obscured by trees and brush, its walls had been slathered in a deceptive layer of plaster. This summer the plaster was chipped away to reveal wide, rectangular blocks that are typical of Hellenistic buildings from the second century B.C. It's located on a newly unearthed road that leads to the harbor of the same era. They also found Hellenistic pottery shards in the rubble near the wall. The team speculates it may have been a warehouse.
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Jennifer Pinkowski
Cistern:
As seen in this stitched-together image, the pipes poking through the cistern wall look almost modern and just as ready to pour fresh springwater as they were 1,650 years ago ....[More]
Cistern:
As seen in this stitched-together image, the pipes poking through the cistern wall look almost modern and just as ready to pour fresh springwater as they were 1,650 years ago. (Note the Roman arch.) At least 80 meters long, the cistern was entirely constructed from bricks stamped with the name of Constantine or his sons Constantine II and Konstans, which have mostly been discovered at imperial sites like Hagia Sophia.
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Steven Bartoo
Water channels:
Spelunkers explored hundreds of feet of a two-part water channel system that archaeologists discovered this year. The channels directed freshwater to the cistern and buildings throughout Bathonea....[More]
Water channels:
Spelunkers explored hundreds of feet of a two-part water channel system that archaeologists discovered this year. The channels directed freshwater to the cistern and buildings throughout Bathonea. "They showed us that such an infrastructure can only be constructed for a very big and important settlement," Aydingün says.
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Haldun Aydingün
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I once had love for one who loved Gordion That dig on Anatolia's plains for historians She made Ankara's kale sing Even Midas would ring But her heart endeared only Gordion
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4 Comments
Add CommentIstanbul was Constantinople now its Istanbul not Constantinople, so if you've got a date in Constantinople she'll be waiting in Istanbul.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFascinating. I am awaiting a documentary on the subject. A date in Constantinople? I am afraid she might be past her "best by" date.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI once had love for one who loved Gordion
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThat dig on Anatolia's plains for historians
She made Ankara's kale sing
Even Midas would ring
But her heart endeared only Gordion
Dans le flux la mélodie....
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGentiment,
comme le son
de la neige
qui donne le
matin, comme
la voix du soleil
qui chante
avec toi dans
l'aube d'une
pensée....
Francesco Sinibaldi