The anatomy of the ships found in the Marmaray excavation was removed

The anatomy of the ships found in the Marmaray excavation has been removed: 37 sunken ships found in Yenikapı during the archaeological excavations carried out within the scope of the Istanbul Marmaray and metro projects are becoming beacons for scientific studies.

During the archaeological excavations carried out within the scope of the Istanbul Marmaray and metro projects, an inventory of the wood species used in the construction of 37 sunken ships in Yenikapı was made.

Istanbul University (IU) Faculty of Letters Department of Conservation of Underwater Culture Residents and IU Yenikapı Shipwrecks Project President Assoc. Dr. Ufuk Kocabas, AA correspondent, Yenikapi excavations and archaeological explorations of the century between the archaeological excavations and the Port of Theodosius continued work on the excavation, he said.

Kocabaş stated that the documentation and conservation practices of thousands of artifacts obtained during the rescue excavations that started in 2005 and ended in 2013 were carried out by the teams of Istanbul Archeology Museums.

Explaining that the conservation works of 37 of the 27 ship remains found in the Theodosius Harbor fill belonging to the Byzantine period were carried out in the Yenikapı Shipwrecks Research Laboratory of Istanbul University, Kocabaş stated that one of the most important groups among the Yenikapı finds collection was the ship remains dating to different periods.

Kocabas said that the wrecks are a unique source of information in terms of the function of the port and in particular the light of the period and the changes and developments in shipbuilding technology.

"It takes years to study the anatomy of a ship"

Noting that the third volume of the Yenikapı shipwrecks series is about to be completed, Kocabaş said, “The shipwreck at Yenikapı number 3 was studied as a doctoral dissertation in our university and it was the first wreck to be examined. Next is the detail volume of this wreck. It will be the first archaeological example whose construction technology has been studied by Turkish scientists. It is already eagerly awaited by the scientific community. Studying the anatomy of a ship takes years and is a tedious study. We are trying to find sponsors for the books we have prepared on this subject ”.

"Dating the shipwrecks to different periods offers a unique opportunity to understand the development of shipbuilding technologies in the Mediterranean," said Kocabaş.

Kocabaş, on the remains of the shipwreck, scientific studies on the remains of the oldest, about a thousand years old 500 wooden remains can be taken years of restoration, he added.