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New Archaeological Discovery
In 2008, when homes were cleared and excavation started for Istanbul multi-million dollar Marmaray rail project, a tunnel running deep beneath the Bosphorus Straits which will for the first time link the European and Asian sides of the city by public transport; archaeologists were forced to stop in their tracks quite literally.
Working day and night, they uncovered what could possibly be the “most important urban archaeological site of our time” (Cornucopia, Issue 31), unearthing the port of Byzantium, its busiest ancient port and a flotilla of sunken merchant vessels just a few meters below ground. They also found settlements, skeletons and Bronze Age burial grounds dating back 8000 years - discoveries which will re-write history as it means the city is several millennia older than we knew: The first settlements in Istanbul were originally thought to have dated back only 2,700 years.
Officials said they plan to build a museum on part of the site and incorporate it into the massive state-of-the-art underground hub station, as well as a new museum and archaeological park.