Set of rare ancient plates found in Turkish waters

In the coastal waters near the city of Adrasan in Antalya province in southern Turkey, underwater archaeologists have come across a stunning find. The researchers managed to find one of the most beautiful sets of ancient plates dating back to the Eastern Roman Empire.

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In an area of about 15-20 square metres, sets of plates were found stacked on top of each other. Most of them were beaten, but there were also intact pieces that had survived the sinking and the test of time. Many more similar artefacts are found along the coast of Antalya and Mersin provinces, according to archaeologists. Unfortunately, most of them are beyond the reach of researchers due to the great depth.

The latest find comes from the wreck of a vessel that most likely sank after running into a rock around the 12th century. The found plates are beautifully decorated, have different sizes and are solidly made. On the tableware there are motifs of flowers or fish, which are characteristic for this period. The archaeologists were most surprised by the colours, which have been wonderfully preserved.

“We honestly didn’t expect to find any valuable artifacts. At one point we simply came upon a solid, beautiful plate, shimmering with its colours that had been preserved despite centuries spent underwater. We were amazed and surprised by its design. Then we found other plates and each time we were impressed by the workmanship and the motifs used. The quality of their workmanship is very good. All the plates we found are 800-900 years old.” – said Hakan Öniz from the Department of Archaeology at Selçuk University

Now all excavated objects are preserved and cleaned of salt in the laboratory of the museum in Antalya. This is due to the fact that the ceramic objects, e.g. amphorae or vessels, have micro-openings in which the salt is now located. If they were not cleaned and preserved properly, they would simply disintegrate into many fragments after drying. Once the conservation processes are complete, the plates will go on public display as an exhibition at the Antalya Museum.

“The ship was carrying a cargo of plates from two different factories. We don’t know exactly where they came from, but we made this assumption because two different techniques were used to make the plates we found.” – continued Öniz’s explanation

According to scientists, the ship carrying the plates was caught by surprise by a storm and crashed into the surrounding rocks before sinking. The site where the wreck was found looks like an old harbour where various vessels used to take shelter from bad weather.

“We call such harbours ‘false’ because, on the surface, they look as if they could give shelter to ships fleeing unfavourable weather. The captain of the vessel probably considered this place safe and ordered to anchor here. Unfortunately, although they managed to shelter from the wind, the ship was hit by a strong current that smashed the vessel against the rocks,” Hakan Öniz explained to the media

Despite the work being carried out, archaeologists have not been able to find fragments of the ship. All because of the presence in the region of the shipworm, which eats the wood from which the ships were built.

In total, about 100 undamaged plates and 300 beaten plates were excavated. The artifacts were excavated as part of a project launched in 2014 and carried out by Dokuz Eylül University, Selçuk University and the Antalya Museum. It is scheduled for completion next year.

Source: hurriyetdailynews.com