©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project


Byzantion / Lygos

For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...

maps

For photographs please click on the photo...

Byzantion / Lygos
Type:
Mound
Altitude:
m
Region:
Marmara
Province:
Istanbul
District:
Fatih
Village:
Sarayburnu
Investigation Method:
Excavation
Period:
Classical Early Iron Age Archaic

     


Location: According to Pliny, once called Lygos, it is a settlement on the shores of the Bosphorus [N.H. IV, 46]. It was founded on Sarayburnu (Bosphorus Akra) where Golden Horn (Khrysokeras) lies to the north, and the Marmara Sea (Propontis) to the south. The site was also referred by Herodotus [IV, 87, 144; VI, 33].
Geography and Environment: Construction of the European railway passing through the necropolis area of the ancient city in 1871 revealed part of the ancient city, but at the same time it caused grave damage [Asgari 1985:44].
History:
Research and Excavation: Some excavations were conducted in the second courtyard of the Topkapi Palace in 1937 under the direction of A. Ogan, in the churchs of St. Sophia (Ayasofya) and St. Irene (Aya Irini) in 1946-47, in the Hippodrome area and Beyazit necropolis in 1950-52, and in the area between the Museum of the Topkapi Palace and the Istanbul Archaeological Museums and on the nortwestern slope of the hill known as the acropolis of the ancient city under the direction of N. Firatli in 1968 and 1973. The excavation for a long trench exceeding 8 km for the pipelines laid by the State Water Works in 1983 to bring water from the Ömerli Dam to Bakirköy and Bahçelievler was monitored by an archaeological team under the direction of N. Asgari. Since 1997, excavations have been conducted under the direction of A. Pasinli in Pittakia, and the Great Palace region to the east of Ayasofya and in the garden of the former prison of Sultanahmet (now Four Seasons Hotel). In 2004, excavations were initiated by the Istanbul Archaeological Museums in Yenikapi and Sirkeci in connection with the Subway and Marmararay Underwater Tunnel Projects in Istanbul. The Yenikapi excavations, covering a total area of 58 thousand squaremeters, have been conducted on the southern skirts of Cerrahpasa, the seventh hill of Istanbul, and in the port which was called Eleuthorios/Theodosius during the Byzantine Period [Gökçay 2007]. The excavations conducted to the east of the present railway station in Sirkeci have focused on the shores of the area that was originally presumed to be the Prosphorianos Port during the 6th century AD, south of the Sepetçiler Pavilion. The excavations are carried out at four spots, including interior part of the Sirkeci Railway Station, rear part of the Sirkeci Railway Station, new access tunnels on the Ankara Street, and air vents near the Hocapasa Mosque.
Stratigraphy: Founded in 658 BC by Megarians, it had been inhabited until the end of the Byzantine Period. Geoarchaeological investigations revealed that the upper coastal layer is represented by light yellow sands dumped during the construction of the Byzantine port. The layer consists of 8 units (P6-P13), mainly deposits of fine sediments, and fine sand from place to place, representing a shallow coastline. The lower section is represented by an approximately 1 m thick deposit of shell fragments and sands underlying the grey clay. Architectural remains and finds dating to the Neolithic and Iron Ages were found under this sandy level full of shells [Algan-Yalçin 2007: 157]. Finds such as terracotta vessels and pots, candles, fragments of bricks and tiles unearthed behind the Sirkeci Station indicate that layering dates back to the 7th century BC [Girgin 2007a].
Small Finds: Architectural Remains: The excavations conducted in the area between the Museum of Topkapi Palace and the Archaeological Museums of Istanbul in 1973 yielded arcaic terra cotta roof tiles, a Corinthian roof tile in the style of "Laconia" region, and two antefixa, one with a relief decoration, and a half antefix -which was evaluated as one [Firatli 1978:pl. 164, drw. 6]. Pottery: The excavations conducted in the second courtyard of the Topkapi Palace in 1937 yielded a 5th century BC Byzantine basilica and a few fragments of Protocorinthian aryballos [Firatli 1978:pl.168, drw.11]. In 1946-47, artifacts from the Archaic Period were unearthed during the excavations in the St. Sophia and St. Irene Churchs. Firatli provided drawing of one of these artifacts, although they were not published. It is the neck of an amphora with a relief decoration [Firatli 1978:571, Ill. 4]. Presence of grey Phrygian ceramics was reported in the soundings opened to the south of the St. Irene Church [Özdogan 2000:18]. A flask dating to the 4th century was uncovered during the excavations at the Beyazit Necropolis [Firatli 1978:pl. 168, drw.12]. An Archaic Period askos was unearthed at Alibeyköy. The excavation conducted in the area between the Museum of Topkapi Palace and the Istanbul Archaeological Museums in 1973 yielded many mixed Greek ceramics, and terracotta fragments [Firatli 1978:572,565-68]. Among the ceramic finds are amphoras, cooking pots, banded ceramics, a few "bird bowls", a handle fragment dating approximately to 600 BC, and a black figure sherd with head of a bearded male [Firatli 1978:pl. 164, dwg. 5]. In addition to above finds, three materials belonging to the Prehistoric Period, which was never seen before, were recovered. They include three sherds of handmade ware decorated with thumb impression marks, and relief bands, and a polished hammer axe found right above the virgin soil. The finds were dated to the transition from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Bronze Age. In the same area, some material of the 5th and 4th centuries BC including sherds of a red-figure vase, an intact skyphos, and a few rims and fragments of pedestals were found. During the cleaning work carried out in a foundation pit at Çarsikapi some artifacts from the Archaic Period and a potsherd in the Central-Cyprus style, presumably dating to the late 2nd Millennium BC and the early 1st Millennium BC were uncovered [Firatli 1958:29; Firatli 1978:Ill.5]. The excavations conducted in the garden of the former prison at Sultanahmet in 1997-99 yielded three sherds of a bowl dating to the 5th-3rd century BC, and ceramics and small finds starting from the Greek period in the deposit [Pasinli 2002: 9]. One percent of the ceramics revealed at a level of 28.70 m during this excavation accounts for the sherds from the Classical Period [Pasinli 2001: 50]. The 2001 excavations yielded fragments of ceramics from the Hellenistic Period, a candle dating to the 5th century BC at level 32.08 with traces of fire, a terracotta female head dating to the 5th-4th century BC, and a bronze fibula from the Phrygian Period (8th-7th century BC) [Pasinli 2003: 3, dwg 2, 3]. A Corinthian aryballos in the shape of an owl dating to the 7th-6th century BC, and an amphora with a thin bracelet lip and a long neck dating to the 5th-4th century BC have been unearthed during the ongoing excavations at the Theodosius Port [Asal 2007:153]. A potsherd from the 5th century BC with a landscape figure was found under the foundations of some masonry works from the late 19th century which were demolished during the enlargement activities under the Ankara Street at Sirkeci [Girgin 2007a:159]. During the excavations behind the Sirkeci Railway Station, sherds dating from the 7th century and amphora fragments dating from the 5th century BC were found [Girgin 2007a]. The excavation at the Great Palace yielded fragement of an East Greek oinochoe from 625-600 BC, a dinos from the 6th century BC, fragment of a Little Master kylix from 550-525 BC, and an askos in the red-figure technique dating from the 5th century BC [Denker et al. 2007: cat.no.SC 2,3]. Jewellery: A bronze Phrygian fibula dating to the 8th-7th century BC was found during the excavation at the Great Palace [Denker et al. 2007: cat.no.SC 1]. Figurines: The excavations at the Hippodrome area in 1950-52 yielded terracotta figurines from the Hellenistic Period. In 1973, a terracotta seated Kybele with lions, several animals, and various heads and busts were unearthed during the excavation conducted in the area between the Topkapi Palace and the Istanbul Archaeological Museums as 5th and 4th centuries material [Firatli 1978:pl. 166-67, dwg. 8-9]. Epigraphic Material: The Yenikapi excavations yielded a grave stele with an inscription, which reads "Lollia Serenia lived for 12 years" among re-used material in the wharf building [Gökçay 2007:21]. Other: The excavation conducted in the area between the Topkapi Palace and the Istanbul Archaeological Museums in 1973 yielded terracotta candles and two types of loomweights, rounded and pyramidal, some being stamped, dating from the Archaic Period until the Hellenistic Period [Firatli 1978]. And candles, fragments of brick and tiles starting from the 7th century were unearthed during the excavations behind the Sirkeci Railway Station [Girgin 2007a].
Remains:
Interpretation and Dating: Due to the fragments of a Protocorinthian vase dating to the 7th century BC which were unearthed during the excavations in the second courtyard of the Topkapi Palace, it has been confirmed that Byzantion was founded during the first half of the 7th century BC [Mansel 1971:167]. The potsherds, candles, fragments of bricks and tiles, starting from the 7th century BC, particularly amphoras dating from the 5th century BC to the 1st century AD indicate the commercial relationship of Byzantion with the Thasos, Rhodes, Chios and Kos islands, and Knidos, Sinop and Karadeniz Ereglisi (Heraclea Pontica) [Girgin 2007]. The bronze Phrygian fibula unearthed during the excavation at the Great Palace provide a good evidence for the Phrygian presence in Byzantion.


To List