Polyeuktos Church in Saraçhane, which was destroyed during the Latin occupation, was found by Istanbul Municipality teams, a statue thought to be 1.900 years old from the Roman period.

Excavations were started by teams affiliated to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Cultural Heritage Department in the area where the church was destroyed on June 8 last year.

As part of the ongoing work on the north side of the church on March 31, the team went one meter below the surface and came across a statue. The statue was fully unearthed at the end of the excavation.

Describing the find as "an astonishing development", the team said that the head, legs and right arm of the marble statue were broken.

The kingdom is thought to date back to Roman times and is about 1.900 years old.

During the excavations carried out under the direction of the Istanbul Archaeological Museums, the excavation teams found 681 bronze coins, stamped bricks, pieces of marble, ceramics, oil lamps, glass and metal items, as well as the figure.

The gigantic cathedral, which was built by a Byzantine princess in the name of St. Polyeuktos in today's Saraçhane region in 524 AD, was partially destroyed in an earthquake in 1010.

However, the church was completely destroyed and its priceless parts were moved to Barcelona and Venice during the Latin occupation of Istanbul.

In 1964, excavations were carried out in the area where the church was located, in cooperation with the Istanbul Archeology Museum and Oxford University. Teams managed to identify the plan and decoration of the church, but no artifacts were discovered.

Until the second excavation of the municipality, the area where the church was located was left empty after the excavations.

The 1.500-year-old cistern of the ancient Gülhane Park has also been restored by cultural heritage teams in the meantime.

The historical fountain next to the Gülhane Park Cistern was also repaired and brought to water.

Visitors to the park will now be able to use the baroque-style pond. The teams installed the lighting system and prepared the inside of the cistern for various events such as performances and talks.

Ref: IMM

📩 03/04/2023 18:03