Traces of an Ottoman shipyard discovered in the ancient city of Parion: "An exciting discovery"
This year, excavations are being carried out by a team of 36 people, 18 of whom are foreign members, led by Prof. Dr. Vedat Keleş, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and Head of the Department of Archaeology at Ondokuz Mayıs University. Underwater excavations at the ancient city of Parion have unearthed numerous Ottoman ceramics, as well as remains of what may be an Ottoman shipyard.
Prof. Dr. Vedat Keleş stated that they have been excavating the ancient city for 20 years and that they had not found any findings from the Ottoman Period until last year, and made the following statements:
During our brief underwater explorations last year, we encountered a significant amount of Ottoman ceramics. This prompted us to conduct some literature research. In this literature study, we discovered that Kemer Pier was not only one of the Ottoman Navy's most important lumber supply points for almost 300 years, from 1574 to the 19th century, but also one of the most important shipping points for Istanbul's wood needs at various times. We consider this discovery an exciting discovery, both for the city's antiquity and for our national history.
Prof. Dr. Keleş continued his words as follows:
"We want to continue our underwater research here with greater momentum this year. This region lies on the Dardanelles, one of the world's most important waterways and trade routes from ancient times to the present. Therefore, the ceramics we have observed during our underwater research certainly confirm the information we have encountered in our literature review on the Ottoman Period. Our studies of these ceramics and the underwater surveys we will conduct in and around the ancient harbor will likely allow us to uncover both ancient and Ottoman-era shipwrecks. Therefore, we believe that these studies will provide crucial information not only about the region's ancient history but also about Ottoman-era shipbuilding.
The data obtained from underwater studies, literature studies and current activities in the region prove that there is a historical continuity in the region in terms of maritime.''
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