ANCIENT RESERVOIR AT ATHYRA, CONSTANTINOPLE AT RISK: THE VALUE OF COMBINED HISTORICAL, ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL DATA

Abstract

The surveys of the Istanbul Prehistoric Research Project that have been carried out since 2014 in and around the Istanbul Büyükçekmece Lake, discovered not only prehistoric materials but also a considerable number of small findings, ceramics and architectural elements from the Classical Period. A great deal of effort was spent to identify the long wall, extending roughly along the lake‟s ancient coast line, which surfaces during the years of drought when the lake‟s water recedes considerably. Antique geographers mention the region in a line or two, as a small town named after Athyra(s), a river flowing into the Marmara Sea from the north. Procopius, an important historian of the 6th Century, informs us in his book „On Buildings‟(Greek: ΠερὶΚτισμάτων, PerìKtismáton; Latin: De aedificiis) that Emperor Justinian built a reservoir at the request of people affected by drought in a town called Athyra, near Constantinople. At first glance, knowing that the lake now not only supplies its ever-growing nearby population but also provides fresh water to Istanbul, the information given by Procopius didn‟t seem to be convincing. The team focused its efforts to investigate if the embankment belongs to the mentioned dam, or not.The team consulted the historic records and also correlated with the other surface findings such as different artifacts, ceramics, and architectural elements to build a context. Underwater Side Scan Sonar, Geomorphological and Paleoclimatological work confirmed that the region, despite its ample fresh water sources available nowadays, was suffering a serious drought during the sixth century.