5,000-year-old drainage system found at Liman Tepe

İZMİR

Officials say it is a system that we know little about in western Anatolia and that has very few examples in the Aegean. (AA Photo)

Archaeologists conducting joint land and underwater excavations at Liman Tepe, an archaeological site in the western province of İzmir’s Urla district, have uncovered a nearly 5,000-year-old drainage system of stone channels believed to divert rainwater.

According to a statement by the İzmir Municipality, a 35-member team is working at the site to shed light on Urla’s 7,000-year history. The excavations are examining not only the ancient settlement on land but also the harbor underwater, which has been under investigation since 2000.

This year, researchers have been working on the streets, “long houses,” fortifications and water system of the roughly 5,000-year-old settlement at Liman Tepe. Underwater, new research has also been conducted to determine the history of the harbor’s breakwater structure.

Vasıf Şahoğlu, head of Ankara University’s Underwater Archaeology Research and Application Center and director of the Liman Tepe excavations, said the excavations had been ongoing since 1992.

One of the most striking findings this year was the water system uncovered in the ancient settlement, Şahoğlu said, noting that researchers had identified stone channels built between terraces at different elevations.

“They built channels with stones, and water flows through these channels. It may not have been related to drinking water. Since the structure gets deeper toward the center of the settlement, we think it may have been built to channel rainwater to a specific location. There is a drainage system built with stones between the terraces. It is a system that we know little about in western Anatolia and that has very few examples in the Aegean. We will examine it in greater detail,” Şahoğlu said.

Şahoğlu also said researchers had obtained new information about the “long houses,” noting that large pottery vessels fixed to the floor had been found at the entrances of the houses. The vessels may have been used to store water, grain or other products, he said, adding that samples taken from the vessels would be examined by specialists.

The “long houses” uncovered during the excavations are among the largest structures known in the Aegean, Şahoğlu said, adding that they were used not only for daily life but also for production.

Şahoğlu underlined that Liman Tepe had been one of the Aegean’s important maritime trade centers for thousands of years. Researchers have also uncovered ceramic samples identified as having come from the Cycladic Islands, he said, adding that such finds have been identified at very few sites in Anatolia.