A sunken ship was detected during an underwater radar survey in the ancient city of Perinthos.
Perinthos (Herakleia) is an ancient city in the Marmara Ereğlisi district of Tekirdağ, founded in the 6th century BC by communities from Samos Island. The city is located on the northern shore of the Marmara Sea, 90 km from Istanbul and 43 km from Tekirdağ.
Perinthos/Herakleia is a city that has been continuously inhabited from the Prehistoric Periods to the present day.
It was under the rule of the Persian Empire, Macedonian Empire, Seleucid Empire, Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire.
During the Roman Empire, it was used as the capital of the province of Thrace. It was an important port city during the Byzantine period. In 1353, it was conquered by the Ottomans.
Mimar Sinan University Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Department of Archaeology Faculty Member Prof. Dr. Zeynep Koçel Erdem said in her speech at the “Ancient Cities in Tekirdağ” conference that the ancient city of Perinthos is an important center used from prehistoric times until today.
Pointing out that the ancient city had two large harbors, Erdem said that it was determined that the eastern harbor was used for commercial purposes and the western one for military purposes.
Erdem stated that in addition to archaeological excavations, underwater studies were carried out in Perinthos and said, “Our underwater studies continue. Perinthos has a very long coast and dives were made to identify cultural assets here.”
Stating that underwater documentation studies were carried out, Erdem noted the following:
“We aim to examine the surrounding area and coastal part of Perinthos and obtain sensitive topographical data. How was the seabed and what did it become with earthquakes? Are there any archaeological remains under the sea? With a remote-controlled boat, the entire bottom is scanned with a sensor on the bottom and a radar on the top, and a wreck was detected at 60 meters. This wreck will be dived with a camera next year.”
