Page 146 - TINA Dergi Sayi 10

TINA

Denizcilik Arkeolojisi Dergisi

Fig. 1.

The Underwater Survey of the Northeastern Marma- mit was only good for an underwater survey, we were
ra has been taking place since 2016 on the Anatolian unable to carry out a land survey at this time. But, we
coast of İstanbul and the waters surrounding the prince had access to the shore by boat and performed a survey
Islands (Fig. 1). The surveys performed in 2016 and on the shoreline.
2017 on the Vordonisi Island continued this year in the SeDeF ISLAnD
islands of Büyükada (Big Island), Sedef (Mother of pe- The waters surrounding the Sedef Island is off li-
arl) and Heybeliada (Saddlebag). A 15-day long survey mits to recreational divers due to the presence of sun-
was carried out between September 3 and 17, 2018. ken national heritage according to the Article 35 of
During this period, surveys were performed in the the Law No. 2863 on Conservation of Cultural and
Çamlimanı Bay at Heybeliada Island (Fig.2), at Sedef Natural properties, except for the scientific dives. We
Island and the Aya Nikola and Nakibey beaches that lie first cruised around the island in order to identify any
on the eastern shore of the Büyükada island (Fig. 3). potential architectural remains near the shore. As a
bÜYÜKADA ISLAnD result, remains of a historical building was observed
Saint Nicholas of Myra is known as the patron saint on the northwest shore of the island, which is cur-
of sailors. We searched for the traces of a monastery rently occupied by a modern boat yard facility. Sin-
that was sunken as a result of a landslide at the Aya ce there were many boats at the time that anchored
Nikola Beach of Büyükada Island according to sailors, in this part of the island, we performed dives to see
but no data was found during our survey. whether it was also used as a harbor during Antiqu-
An ancient breakwater was another subject of the un- ity. We found a white porcelain milk bowl decorated
derwater surveys at the Nakibey Beach in Büyükada with blue plants at a depth of approximately 18 me-
Island, but since a large amount of sand was brought ters (Fig. 4). In addition to this, an 18th century me-
in for the beach, no cultural asset was observed. Howe- tal anchor was found at a depth of approximately 21
ver, presence of an arched building was noticed on the meters during another dive to the south of the island
land-side of the beach. Since the Nakibey beach is cur- (Fig. 5). A potsherd was found during the same dive
rently occupied by a private establishment, and our per- at a depth of approximately 17 meters.

1 We thank Surgeon Altinok ÖZ, the Mayor of Kartal Municipality, and Mr. Adem Uçar, the Director of Cultural and Social Affairs at the Kartal
Municipality for allowing us to use the leisure center at Büyükada Island during our surveys. We thank Mr. Halim BULUTOĞLU, the President
of Adalar Foundation not only for providing us with funds for our transportation expenses and survey equipments, but also for his sensitivity
towards the conservation of cultural assets in the Adalar region. We also would like to thank archaeologist Turhanalp Gültekin YANBEYİ from
the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara for his devoted participation as the ministry representative in our work. And we are thankful to
our team members Emre ERTAN, Ayşenur ÖKSÜZ, Cihan TARHAN, Volkan NARCI and Serço EKŞİYAN.
2 Prince Islands consist of the Büyükada Island (Πρίγκηπος/Prinkipos), the Heybeliada Island (Χάλκη/Khalkitis), the Burgaz Island (Αντιγόνη/
Antigoni), the Kınalıada Island (Πρώτη/Proti), the Sedef Island (Τερέβινθος/Terebinthos, modern Greek: Αντιρόβυθος/Antirovithos), the
Yassıada Island (Πλάτη/Plati), the Kaşık Island (Πίτα/Pita), the Sivriada Island (Οξειά/Ohia) and the Tavşan Island (Νέανδρος/Neandros).
Additionally, there is a submerged island called the Vordonisi Island, which should be added to this list. For further information on Vordonisi,
please see Bilir et al. 2017, 132-150.
3 Diving was prohibited in the region based on the above mentioned law following removal of a few amphoras from the bottom of the sea by a
group of recreational divers who noticed the presence of such cultural heritages in 1981.
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