Characteristic Features and Construction Technique of Shipwreck Yenikapı 20

Year 2023, Issue: 20, 311 - 328, 31.07.2023

Işıl Kocabaş , Taner Güler

https://doi.org/10.26650/artsanat.2023.20.1213527

Abstract

During the salvage excavations carried out in the Yenikapı district of Istanbul between 2004 and 2013 within the scope of the Marmaray and Metro projects, the Theodosius Harbor, the essential commercial transportation center of Constantinople, was unearthed. Yenikapı 20 (YK20) is one of 37 shipwrecks discovered in Theodosius Harbor. YK20 is dated to AD 687-975 years by radiocarbon analyses. The preserved dimensions of the shipwreck, whose hull part is intact, are 8.76 m in length and 2.25 m in width. After in situ documentation, the hull was removed from the site; post-excavation documentation and construction technique studies were carried out at Istanbul University Yenikapı Shipwrecks Application and Research Center. According to archaeological evidence and preliminary reconstruction studies, YK20 is a small merchantman with a length of approximately 10.76 m, with Latin sails, built using the Mediterranean mixed construction method. It has similar construction characteristics to the Yenikapı shipwrecks YK9, YK12, and YK18, which have chestnut planks and planking edge dowel joints. In this article, the Yenikapı excavations, which lasted for nine years, and the history of the harbor are presented to create integrity with the subject, the documentation of the shipwreck is summarized, its general construction features and analysis are evaluated in comparison with the other Yenikapı shipwrecks.

Keywords

Boat and ship archaeology, Yenikapı shipwrecks, Theodosian Harbor, Byzantine shipbuilding

Supporting Institution

İÜ Bilimsel Araştırma Projeleri Koordinasyon Birimi

Project Number

26288

Thanks

We would like to thank Istanbul Archeology Museums and IU Yenikapı Shipwrecks Project coordinator Prof. Ufuk Kocabaş for permission and support to work on shipwrecks. Many thanks to Prof. Abdi Kükner, Prof. Ünal Akkemik, the IU Yenikapı Shipwrecks Project team and the relevant units of Istanbul University. This study (Project number: 26288) and IU Yenikapı Shipwreck Project (Project numbers: 2294, 3907, 7381, 12765) were supported by Istanbul University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit.

Yenikapı 20 Batığının İnşa Tekniği ve Karakteristik Özellikleri

Abstract

Marmaray ve Metro projeleri kapsamında, 2004-2013 yılları arasında İstanbul’un Yenikapı semtinde gerçekleştirilen kurtarma kazıları sırasında, Konstantinopolis’in önemli ticari ulaşım merkezi Theodosius Limanı ortaya çıkarılmıştır. Yenikapı 20 (YK20), Theodosius Limanı’nda keşfedilen 37 batıktan biridir. YK20, radyokarbon analizlerine göre 687- 975 yılları arasına tarihlendirilmiştir. Karina kısmı sağlam olarak günümüze ulaşan batığın korunan boyutları 8,76 m uzunluk ve 2,25 m genişliktedir. Batık gövdesi, in situ belgelemesi yapıldıktan sonra araziden kaldırılmış; kazı sonrası belgeleme ve yapım tekniği çalışmaları İstanbul Üniversitesi Yenikapı Batıkları Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi’nde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Arkeolojik kanıtlar ve ön rekonstrüksiyon çalışmalarına göre YK20, Akdeniz karma yapım yöntemi ile inşa edilmiş, Latin yelkenli, yaklaşık 10,76 m uzunluğunda küçük bir ticaret gemisidir. Kestane kaplamalı ve kenar kavelalı olan Yenikapı batıklarından YK9, YK12 ve YK18 ile benzer konstrüksiyon özelliklerine sahiptir. Bu çalışmada,dokuz yıl süren Yenikapı kazıları ve limanın tarihçesi konu ile bütünlük oluşturmak amacıyla sunulmuş, batığın dokümantasyonu özetlenmiş, genel konstrüksiyon özellikleri ve analizi Yenikapı batıkları ile karşılaştırmalı olarak değerlendirilmiştir.

Keywords

Gemi ve tekne arkeolojisi, Yenikapı batıkları, Theodosius Limanı, Bizans gemi inşası

Project Number

26288

References

• Akkemik, Ünal. Yenikapı Shipwrecks Volume II: Woods of Yenikapı Shipwrecks. Istanbul: Ege Press, 2015. google scholar
• Akkemik, Ünal and Ufuk Kocabaş. “Woods of Byzantine Trade Ships of Yenikapı (İstanbul) and Changes in Wood Use from 6th to 11th Century.” Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry 14.2 (2014): 317-327. google scholar
• Asal, Rahmi. “Yenikapi Excavations and Trade in Istanbul in Antiquity.” Stories from the Hidden Harbor: The Shipwrecks of Yenikapı. Edited by Zeynep Kızıltan and Gülbahar Baran Çelik. Istanbul: İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri, 2013, 5-10. google scholar
• Evgenidou, Despoina. “Byzantine Shipbuilding.” Journeys on the Seas of Byzantium. Edited by Diana Zafiropoulou. Athens: Hellenic Ministry of Culture, 1997, 32-39. google scholar
• Excavations Arquolögiques Subaquatiques a Cala Culip, 2. Culip VI. Monografies del CASC, Vol. 1. Edited by Xavier Nieto and Xim Raurich. Girona: Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya, 1998. google scholar
• Güler, Taner. “Construction Technique of the Yenikapı 20 Shipwreck, Found in the Harbour of Theodosius (Istanbul, Turkey).” Ships and Maritime Landscapes: Proceeding of the Thirteenth International Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology, Amsterdam 2012. Edited by Jerzy Gawronski, Andre van Holk and Joost Schokkenbroek. Amsterdam: Barkhuis, 2017, 280-282. google scholar
• Güler, Taner. “Yenikapı 20 Batığının Konstrüksiyon Özellikleri ve Yapım Tekniği Önerisi.” PhD diss., Istanbul University, 2019. google scholar
• Gyllius, Petrus. İstanbul’un Tarihi Eserleri. Translated by Erendiz Özbay. İstanbul: Eren Yayıncılık, 1997. google scholar
• Haldon, John. Bizans Tarih Atlası. Trans. Ali Özdamar. İstanbul: Kitap Yayınevi, 2007. google scholar
• Ingram, Rebecca. “The Hull of Yenikapı Shipwreck YK 11: a 7th-century Merchant Vessel from Constantinople’s Theodosian Harbour.” International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 47.1 (2018): 103-139. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/ full/10.1111/1095-9270.12293 google scholar
• Kılıç, Namık and Gökçe Kılıç. “Analysis of Waterlogged Woods: Example of Yenikapı Shipwrecks.” Art-Sanat 9 (Aralık 2018), 1-11. Accessed September 10, 2022. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/ download/issue-full-file/47878. google scholar
• Kızıltan, Zeynep. “Excavations at Yenikapı, Sirkeci and Üsküdar within Marmaray and Metro Projects.” Archaeological Museums, Proceedings of the 1st Symposium on Marmaray-Metro Salvage Excavations 5th-6th May 2008, İstanbul. Edited by Ufuk Kocabaş. İstanbul: İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri, 2010, 1-16. google scholar
• Kocabaş, Ufuk. “The Latest Link in the Long Tradition of Maritime Archaeology in Turkey: The Yenikapı Shipwrecks.” European Journal of Archaeology 15.1 (2012): 1-15. Accessed October 24, 2022. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1179/1461957112Y.0000000008 google scholar
• Kocabaş, Ufuk. “The Yenikapı Byzantine-Era Shipwrecks, Istanbul, Turkey: A Preliminary Report and Inventory of the 27 Wrecks Studied by Istanbul University.” International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 44.1 (2015a): 5-38. Accessed August 16, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/1095-9270.12084 google scholar
• Kocabaş, Ufuk. Geçmişe Açılan Kapı: Yenikapı Batıkları. İstanbul: Ege Press, 2015. google scholar
• Kocabaş, Ufuk, Namık Kılıç and Rahmi Asal. “Keeping the Past Alive: The Yenikapı Shipwrecks.” Maritime Archaeology Periodical 14. Edited by Mehmet Bezdan and Ufuk Kocabaş. Istanbul: Bilnet Matbaacılık ve Yayıncılık, 2020, 14-55. google scholar
• Kocabaş, Ufuk, Işıl Özsait-Kocabaş and Namık Kılıç. “The Yenikapı Shipwrecks: Dismantling Methods and First Step to Conservation.” 11th ICOM International Conference on Wet Organic Archaeological Materials (ICOM-WOAM), Greenville, 2010. Edited by Kristiane Straetkvern and Emily Williams. USA: ICOM Committee for Conservation, 2010, 303-312. google scholar
• Magdalino, Paul. “The Harbors of Byzantine Constantinople.” Stories from the Hidden Harbor: The Shipwrecks of Yenikapı. Edited by Zeynep Kızıltan and Gülbahar Baran-Çelik. İstanbul: İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri, 2013, 11-15. google scholar
• Mango, Cyril. “The Development of Constantinople as an Urban Centre.” The 17th International Byzantine Congress, Major Papers. New York: Caratzas, 1986, 117-136. google scholar
• Müller-Wiener, Wolfgang. Bizans’tan Osmanlı’ya İstanbul Limanları. Translated by Erol Özbek. İstanbul: Tarih Vakfı, 1998. google scholar
• Özsait-Kocabaş, Işıl. “The Yenikapı 12 Shipwreck, a 9th-Century Merchantman from the Theodosian Harbour in Istanbul, Turkey: construction and reconstruction.” International Journal of Nautical Archaeology 47.2 (2018): 357-390. Accessed August 16, 2022. https://www.tandfonline.com/ doi/full/10.1111/1095-9270.12325 google scholar
• Özsait-Kocabaş, Işıl. “Bir Bizans Teknesinin Anatomisi: Yenikapı 8 Batığı.” Art-Sanat 11 (Ocak 2019): 325-338. Accessed January 16, 2019. https://doi.org/10.26650/artsanat.2019.11.0015. google scholar
• Özsait-Kocabaş, Işıl. Yenikapı 12-An Early Medieval Merchantman/Yenikapı12-Erken Orta Çağ Ticaret Teknesi. Istanbul: Ege Press, 2022. google scholar
• Polat, Mehmet Ali. “Neolithic Period.” Stories from the Hidden Harbor: The Shipwrecks of Yenikapı. Edited by Zeynep Kızıltan and Gülbahar Baran-Çelik. Istanbul: İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri, 2013, 75-93. google scholar
• Pomey, Patrice, Yaacov Kahanov and Eric Rieth. “Transition from Shell to Skeleton in Ancient Mediterranean Ship-Construction: Analysis, Problems, and Future Research.” International Journal ofNautical Archaeology 41.2 (2012): 235-314. Accessed January 16, 2019. https://doi. org/10.1111/j.1095-9270.2012.00357.x google scholar
• Pryor, John H. Akdeniz’de Coğrafya, Teknoloji ve Savaş, Araplar, Bizanslılar, Batılılar ve Türkler. Translated by Füsun Tayanç and Tunç Tayanç. İstanbul: Kitap Yayınevi, 2004. google scholar
• Pulak, Cemal, Rebecca Ingram and Michael Jones. “Eight Byzantine Shipwrecks from the Theodosian Harbour excavations at Yenikapı in Istanbul, Turkey: An Introduction.” International google scholar
• Journal of Nautical Archaeology 44.1 (2015): 39-73. Accessed January 16, 2019. https://doi. org/10.1111/1095-9270.12083 google scholar
• Stories from the Hidden Harbor: The Shipwrecks of Yenikapı. Edited by Zeynep Kızıltan and Gülbahar Baran-Çelik. Istanbul: İstanbul Arkeoloji Müzeleri, 2013. google scholar
• Tekin, Oğuz. Eski Yunan ve Roma Tarihine Giriş. İstanbul: İletişim Yayıncılık, 2008. google scholar
• Türkmenoğlu, Evren. “Preliminary Report on the Yenikapı 17 Shipwreck.” Between Continents: Proceedings of the Twelfth Symposium on Boat and Ship Archaeology, Istanbul 2009. Edited by Nergis Günsenin. Istanbul: Ege Press, 2012, 121-125. google scholar
• van Doorninck, Frederick H., Jr. “The Hull Remains.” Yassı Ada, Vol. I: A Seventh-Century Byzantine Shipwreck. Edited by George F. Bass and Frederick H. van Doorninck Jr. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 1982, 32-64. google scholar