The Latest Link in the Long Tradition of Maritime Archaeology in Turkey: The Yenikapi Shipwrecks

Abstract

Thirty-six shipwrecks dated to the fifth to tenth centuries AD have been discovered in the Theodosian (Byzantine) harbour of Istanbul, in the district of Yenikapi. Under the auspices of the 'Istanbul University Yenikapi Shipwrecks Project', carried out by Istanbul University's Department of Conservation of Marine Archaeological Objects, our team has undertaken the recording and dismantling of twenty-seven shipwrecks as well as conservation/restoration and reconstruction projects of thirty-one shipwrecks in total. Shipwrecks of various types and sizes have been exposed since 2005; the majority are still under study.