At a 6,000-year-old site in İzmir's Urla district archaeologists are performing Turkey's first underwater excavation.
Professor Hayat Erkanal, head of the Ankara University archaeology department, recently spoke with the Anatolia news agency about the ongoing excavations at the Limantepe site. Scientists believe a massive earthquake that occurred around 700 B.C. caused an important section of an ancient city at Limantepe to slide one kilometer beneath the sea. The team of archaeologists led by Erkanal took diving courses before they began the excavation, with the help of experience and equipment from Israel's University of Haifa.
The excavation at Limantepe is the third-largest ongoing excavation in the world, just after excavations currently being conducted in France and the Palestinian territories. Erkanal said they stumbled upon parts of the underwater city by accident while working on another project nearby. "We didn't have any plans to work underwater. It would never have even occurred to me that I'd be involved in such a venture. It's a strange coincidence," he added.
The archaeologist said his team suspects the site features a road and some port structures belonging to the Greek and Roman Classical Period. His team includes around 40 people and they excavate underwater for about two hours a day, he said.
Excavations bearing fruit
The ongoing project at Limantepe is beginning to pay off and attract international attention, Erkanal said, noting that last year he traveled abroad to give presentations about the site at 10 different conferences and speaking engagements. The Limantepe site is a model for the excavation and examination of cultures before the Classical Period, he added.
Erkanal emphasized, though, that they are only at the tip of the iceberg in terms of their work at the site. "Limantepe was a hotspot in the Aegean region in the third century B.C. in terms of naval transportation, in addition to every sort of land activity -- it was a major center," he said. He pointed out that walls, residences and a building that may have been a palace have been found, proving that it was a major political and regional center.
Site to be opened to tourists
Erkanal said the team was considering opening a section of the excavation area at Limantepe, which they believe dates back to the early Bronze Age, to tourists. This summer they plan to attach cameras to the headgear of the archaeologists at work underwater in order to stream footage to monitors at the archaeologists' base with an accompanying wireless device to enable the divers to speak with archaeologists on dry land. This will create the opportunity for other archaeologists and tourists to follow the underwater excavations. When the team opens up a larger space for viewing the transmissions from beneath the sea, tourists will also be able to go snorkeling and watch the excavations below, Erkanal added.
The excavation at Limantepe is the third-largest ongoing excavation in the world, just after excavations currently being conducted in France and the Palestinian territories. Erkanal said they stumbled upon parts of the underwater city by accident while working on another project nearby. "We didn't have any plans to work underwater. It would never have even occurred to me that I'd be involved in such a venture. It's a strange coincidence," he added.
The archaeologist said his team suspects the site features a road and some port structures belonging to the Greek and Roman Classical Period. His team includes around 40 people and they excavate underwater for about two hours a day, he said.
Excavations bearing fruit
The ongoing project at Limantepe is beginning to pay off and attract international attention, Erkanal said, noting that last year he traveled abroad to give presentations about the site at 10 different conferences and speaking engagements. The Limantepe site is a model for the excavation and examination of cultures before the Classical Period, he added.
Erkanal emphasized, though, that they are only at the tip of the iceberg in terms of their work at the site. "Limantepe was a hotspot in the Aegean region in the third century B.C. in terms of naval transportation, in addition to every sort of land activity -- it was a major center," he said. He pointed out that walls, residences and a building that may have been a palace have been found, proving that it was a major political and regional center.
Site to be opened to tourists
Erkanal said the team was considering opening a section of the excavation area at Limantepe, which they believe dates back to the early Bronze Age, to tourists. This summer they plan to attach cameras to the headgear of the archaeologists at work underwater in order to stream footage to monitors at the archaeologists' base with an accompanying wireless device to enable the divers to speak with archaeologists on dry land. This will create the opportunity for other archaeologists and tourists to follow the underwater excavations. When the team opens up a larger space for viewing the transmissions from beneath the sea, tourists will also be able to go snorkeling and watch the excavations below, Erkanal added.
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