Excavations at ancient Bathonea in Istanbul

An archaeological excavation was launched in 2009 near Lake Küçükçekmece in the Avcılar district of Istanbul to uncover the ancient city of Bathonea, thought to date back to Hellentistic/Roman times.

Excavations at the ancient city of Bathonea [Credit: İHA]

The excavation is being conducted under the supervision of Associate Professor Şengül Aydıngün from Kocaeli University. In an earlier interview with the Turkish press, she had said the first two years of the project were spent doing cleaning, researching, mapping and geophysical work and that the team started digging in 2011.

An early Hittite figure of a goddess and an amber necklace dating back to the Viking era were found in 2015 during the excavation. The goddess figure is estimated to date back nearly 4,000 years. The figurine, 3.5 centimeters in height, is made out of lead.

The discovery of the Viking-period amber necklace in particular is considered significant as it may provide evidence for the presence of Vikings, who were said to have been hired as mercenaries by the Byzantine Greek Empire, in ninth-century Constantinople.

About 700 Vikings are believed to have come to Constantinople from Scandinavia through Russia and, according to historians, are thought to have remained in the Byzantine capital for about 400 years.

Source: Todays Zaman [December 09, 2015]