Free Republic

Archaeologists have found the figure of a goddess that dates back to the early Hittite period as well as a Viking amber necklace during an ongoing excavation in the ancient city of Bathonea by Lake Kucukcekmece in Istanbul. An archaeological excavation was launched in 2009 near Lake Kucukcekmece in the Avcilar district of Istanbul to uncover the ancient city of Bathonea, which is estimated to be 1,600 years old. The excavation is being conducted under the supervision of Associate Professor Fengul Aydingun from Kocaeli University. in an earlier interview with the press, she had said the first two years of...

Imagine sailing across a lake, looking down, and seeing the top of a tower coming up towards you. That's what villagers have been doing for centuries at Lake Kçkçekmece in what is now Turkey. They told archaeologists from Kocaeli University and the Istanbul Prehistoric Research Project that they thought it was the minaret of a sunken mosque. The archaeologists sent divers down and found an ancient lighthouse at the edge of a sunken city. Using documents written by geographers centuries ago, the archaeologists have now identified the city as the ancient Byzantine port of Bathonea. 1600 years ago, the port...