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Maritime Archaeology Periodical

5. DISCUSSION structed using stones from Mausoleum, including
5.1. Function, Period, and Construction Materi- ashlar blocks from the ancient building and marble
al of the Submerged Archaeological Remains column capitals that belonged to the ancient city.
Ancient Halicarnassus has been associated with a The knights must have fortified the defense systems
secret harbor, in addition to commercial and naval and walls of the castle on the northern and western
harbors, in the past. Spratt and Newton mapped sides expecting to be attacked there, rather from the
the submerged structure separating the commercial land. Considering its general idea and construction
and secret harbor; however, Pedersen assumed that techniques, the mole could not have been built by
the structure was a part of the military installations the knights. On the contrary, since it supplied a base
forming the west side of the naval harbor . Accord- for a potential land attack, with possible additional
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ing to the maps, plans, and publications of various constructions on the top of the mole, and since its
researchers, the structure was assumed to be a position was close to the cannon-proof retaining
mole . The mole consists of two long platforms, one walls, it should have been destroyed by the knights
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larger than the other, with an elevation difference for defense purposes. Additionally, considering the
between them. The function of the channel between general construction techniques of the knights, they
the two platforms is still a question. This kind of would have collected all the useful stones and reused
structure has not been observed before in the region. them during the construction of the castle.
The fact that the mole is covered with a 10 cm- It is known that maritime routes were used for the
thick-layer of mud makes it hard to identify the transportation of the stones used as building material
remains. However, we observed hydraulic mortar of the Mausoleum. The building stones known as the
among the construction materials, which consists green stones were brought by the sea from Koyunba-
of ceramic fragments and pebbles. The mole was ba quarry, which is located on the northwest coast of
apparently built as a massive structure, a mixture of Bodrum peninsula. They would have been unloaded
rubble stones, sand, and hydraulic mortar. The large at Halicarnassus harbor and transported to the con-
platform of the eastern section is assumed to be the struction zone. Additionally, since the white marbles
substructure of a tower , probably related to the en- that made up the façade ornamentation of the monu-
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trance security for the military harbor: a lighthouse ment are from the island of Marmara, those marbles
or a monumental structure of some sort (Fig. 7). were also most likely transported by sea. The harbor
Based on the aerial photography of 1967, we can must have had adequate infrastructure to be able to
clearly state that both sections of the mole were perform transportation on this scale, including the
partly excavated on the north end in recent decades loading and unloading of materials. Therefore, the
(Fig. 8). While the north end was connected to the harbor must have been completed during the period
shoreline in the 1967 photograph (Fig. 8a), today of the Mausoleum.
this section is apparently missing (Fig. 8b). The subbottom profiler seismic data reveals that
Although there is no concrete evidence, we can the ancient mole was not built directly on the bed-
accept that the harbor and the mole were likely built rock; it was built on a sedimentary seabed. Subse-
during the period of Mausolus (377-353 BCE). quently, its surroundings were filled and its general
The largest construction activity in Halicarnassus structure was deformed, mostly likely due to tecton-
took place during this period. According to written ic events. The foundation level of the mole was built
sources, construction activity in the city gradually with rather rigid and solid rocks, while the upper
decreased after Alexander (334 BCE) and the city level was built with a material mixed with mortar.
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lost its importance, particularly during the Byz- The stones on the top of the mole must have been
antine period. In the following periods, the most removed during the construction of the Castle of St.
significant construction operation took place in the Peter or an earlier period for the purpose of defense.
th
15 century, and the Castle of St. Peter was built Core sampling taken from the mole contains vol-
by the Knights of St. John . The Castle was con- canic and mineral elements.
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31 The structure was drawn in the Halicarnassus plans by Captain Spratt in 1847 and Newton in 1862 and Pedersen in 2010. Mean-
while, there is confusion between the descriptions of the secret harbor and the naval harbor.
32 BLACKMAN 1973, 125-126; PEDERSEN 1994a, 219; 2010.
33 BLACKMAN 1973, 125. Pedersen (2010) assumed that the eastern section of the mole carried a fortification wall that ended in a
large tower on the platform. However, only a few stones remain from the possible constructions, which can be seen at the southern
end of mole.
34 SEVİN 2001, 108.
35 PEDERSEN 1994a, 216.
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