The excavations, led by Ankara University Mustafa V. Koç Maritime Archaeology Research Center (ANKÜSAM) Director Prof. Dr. Vasıf Şahoğlu and with the participation of experts from different countries, are continuing as part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's "Heritage for the Future" project.
At Liman Tepe, one of Anatolia's oldest port cities on the Aegean, with a history spanning approximately 7,000 years, land excavations have been ongoing since 1992 and underwater excavations since 2000.
The settlement, which fulfilled the function of today's modern Izmir Port thousands of years ago, sheds light on Anatolia's maritime history with the layers it holds both on land and underwater.
Şahoğlu said, "Liman Tepe is being archaeologically examined in a holistic way with its landscape that remains both on land and underwater. This is an important port city; we found that a significant part of the city remained underwater as the coastline changed."
