Yesterday I met a guy whom I last saw more than 10 years ago. He seems to be doing very well in video-making for advertising purposes. But I admired his excitement about an undersea documentary he wants to make in the Bosphorus. He even bought a boat for this. Let’s see how it goes. There are two major obstacles: Undersea streams are very powerful in the Bosphorus, and you need permission from the presidential office to make a documentary. He looked determined!
I asked Perplexity to compile some content for the archaeology of the Bosphorus. But first, a literary take:
Orhan Pamuk did write about underwater remains in the Bosphorus in The Black Book (Kara Kitap), specifically in one of the fictional columnist Celal’s columns titled “The Day the Bosphorus Dries Up”.
Pamuk’s Literary Treatment
In this column, Celal imagines what would be revealed when the Bosphorus waters recede, creating a vivid catalog of Istanbul’s layered history beneath the sea. He writes: “On the last day, when the waters suddenly recede, among the American transatlantics gone to ground and Ionic columns covered with seaweed, there will be Celtic and Ligurian skeletons… Amidst mussel-encrusted Byzantine treasures… and soda-pop bottles, I can imagine a civilization whose energy needs… will be derived from a dilapidated Romanian tanker propelled into a mire-pit”.
This passage blends ancient archaeological remnants (Ionic columns, Byzantine treasures, ancient skeletons) with modern detritus (soda bottles, tankers), creating a metaphor for Istanbul’s contested identity and the layers of memory buried beneath the city. The column about the dried-up Bosphorus explores how “extensive pollution will cause the Bosphorus to dry up,” revealing the sediments of history.
Symbolic Significance
Scholarly analysis suggests Pamuk uses the underwater ruins and sediments of the Bosphorus as sites where “Turkish memory and identity” are embedded. The novel presents these submerged remains as part of a larger meditation on lost Ottoman memory transformed into “dilapidated sites of memory” during the Republican era. These underwater artifacts, along with mannequins and archives, become crystallized ruins that preserve what has been lost or deliberately forgotten in Turkey’s collective memory.
The columns in Celal’s writing alternate with Galip’s search narrative, making the underwater remains part of the novel’s broader exploration of how Istanbul’s multiple historical layers—Islamic, Ottoman, Byzantine, ancient Mediterranean—coexist in physical space and cultural memory.
There are several significant documentaries and extensive research about remains found in and around the Bosphorus, particularly from the Marmaray tunnel construction project at Yenikapı.[1][2]
Major Documentaries
Several documentaries have covered these archaeological discoveries:
- “60 Meters Below Istanbul: Engineers Find Theodosius’ Lost Harbor” (2025) – This documentary explores the discovery of the ancient Byzantine harbor found during the Marmaray tunnel construction[3]
- “The Emperor’s Lost Harbour” (The Nature of Things) – Focuses on the remarkable discovery of an ancient harbor buried beneath Istanbul during tunnel construction[4]
- “Treasures of Istanbul” (PBS, 2023) – Features access to archaeological digs at Besiktas Metro Station and the multi-layered Iron Age burial site, including the Yenikapı discoveries[5]
- “Ancient Invisible Cities: Istanbul” (PBS, 2018) – Professor Darius Arya uncovers Istanbul’s often-invisible archaeological treasures[6]
Research Discoveries
Yenikapı/Theodosius Harbor Excavations
The most significant find came from 2004-2013 during Marmaray tunnel construction, which uncovered 8,500 years of Istanbul’s history. The excavations revealed:[2][1]
- 37 Byzantine shipwrecks (5th-11th century AD) – the largest collection of medieval ships ever found at a single site[7][8]
- The Harbor of Theodosius, a major 4th-11th century transportation center for Constantinople that was previously only known from literature[2]
- Over 60,000 artifacts including 30,000 animal bones from 57 species, hundreds of human skeletons, 8,500-year-old footprints, and plant fossils[9][1]
- Neolithic dwelling foundations, Byzantine organic materials (wood, rope, leather), pottery, coins, and anchors[7]
Black Sea Deepwater Archaeology
Research expeditions in the Black Sea have documented underwater remains:
- The Black Sea Maritime Archaeology Project (2015-2017) discovered and recorded 65 shipwreck sites dating from the 4th century BC to the 19th century AD[10]
- A 2000 expedition by the Institute for Exploration found shipwrecks and evidence of human habitation prior to Black Sea flooding 7,500 years ago, including an intact Byzantine ship from 450 AD preserved in anoxic waters at 324m depth[11]
The Yenikapı finds are preserved at Istanbul Archaeological Museums, with plans for a dedicated museum at Haydarpasa to display the shipwrecks.[12]
⁂
- https://www.dailysabah.com/arts/marmaray-suburban-rail-digs-reveal-8500-years-of-istanbul-history/news
- https://en.yenisafak.com/turkiye/sub-sea-tunnel-excavations-unearth-8500-year-old-history-of-istanbul-3582190
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qh813JlFwMQ
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27055179/
- https://www.pbs.org/video/treasures-of-istanbul-235pFF/
- https://www.pbs.org/video/istanbul-r2ynge/
- https://nauticalarch.org/projects/yenikapi-byzantine-shipwrecks-project/
- https://www.archaeology.org/exclusives/articles/648-yenikap-byzantine-serci-limani-turkey
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA8J6pp7hPg
- https://www.ancientportsantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/Documents/PLACES/Bosphorus-BlackSea/BlackSeaWrecks-PachecoRuiz2019.pdf
- https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/lup/publication/3c540bbd-a382-4269-bb03-e65e356aec20
- https://www.turkiyetoday.com/culture/yenikapi-shipwrecks-accounted-for-as-istanbul-prepares-major-underwater-museum-3214078
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbm8buUPicU
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJor5CInhN0
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHlgvElDxfQ
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_deluge_hypothesis
- https://www.trtworld.com/article/13100218
- https://www.see.leeds.ac.uk/fileadmin/Documents/news/jeff-Peakall-IstanbulBiennialCatalogueMLFinal.pdf
- https://www.ancientportsantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/Documents/PLACES/Bosphorus-BlackSea/Thracia-Aydingun2022.pdf
- http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2017-08/18/c_136534342.htm
- https://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/the-sunken-basilica-pe9yqz/7823/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosporus
- https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/extension-of-byzantine-era-harbor-discovered–92979
- https://hum54-15.omeka.fas.harvard.edu/exhibits/show/theodosian-harbor/excavation
- https://www.alaturka.info/en/turkey-country/marmara-region/6440-finds-from-construction-pits-of-marmaray-project-in-istanbul
- https://www.ancientportsantiques.com/wp-content/uploads/Documents/PLACES/Bosphorus-BlackSea/Bulgaria-Peev2004.pdf
- https://www.facebook.com/turkisharchaeonews/posts/one-of-istanbuls-most-significant-archaeological-discoveries-uncovered-during-th/1524552513006655/
- https://istanbultarihi.ist/385-istanbul-excavations-the-marmaray-and-metro-rail-construction-projects-and-the-contributions-of-archeological-recovery-excavations-to-the-urban-history-of-istanbul
- https://abis-files.istanbul.edu.tr/avesis/30319f08-4f39-4b27-a1c8-faec2be4ea4f?AWSAccessKeyId=LTJVFSYPRCNLPNMYA4XH&Expires=1718200842&Signature=Vfk1apQ9GrCKBRvpO0a5L1kS6Es%3D
Discover more from Erkan's Field Diary
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.