Remains of ancient castle searched undersea

TRABZON

Within the scope of the ongoing excavations in the Akçakale Castle, built in the 13th century and located at a point overlooking the sea in the Black Sea province of Trabzon’s Akçaabat district, divers are also looking for remains under the sea.

A single-nave church has been unearthed on land and various historical remains of the castle have been found under the sea. District Mayor Osman Nuri Ekim said, “We have detected finds from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods.”

Excavations started eight months ago by the Trabzon Museum Directorate and the Akçaabat District Municipality in Akçakale Castle, which is known to have been built by Emperor Alexios II in the last period of the 13th century on the seaside and passed under the Ottoman rule in 1468 after the conquest of Trabzon.

Eight tombs and skeletons inside, Byzantine- and Ottoman-era coins and ceramic pieces have been found so far during the excavations, as well as a single-nave church and various historical remains of the castle.

It was seen that some of the tombs in the castle had been protected with roof tiles, while some of them had been buried directly without a roof.

Searches are also being carried out in the sea to reach the remains of the historical castle. With the use of divers, various historical ruins belonging to the castle have been found at a depth of 80 meters under the sea.

The excavation works are set to be completed by June, and the remains will be exhibited in the castle.

Speaking about the works, Akçaabat Mayor Osman Nuri Ekim said: “We started an excavation here eight months ago. Together with divers, we conducted research both inside the inner walls of the castle and under the sea, in an area under the walls. We found cannonballs, porcelain and bone fragments from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods in the castle. There is also a cistern that we have detected. Freshwater came out of the cistern and met the needs of the castle at the time. We take these finds under protection with the museum directorate.”

Ekim said that restoration work would begin after the excavation works, adding, “The data collected from the finds found in this region will be evaluated and a restoration project will be conducted. We plan to finalize the excavation here in about a month, and then we will prepare work to bring this region to tourism.”

Akçakale Castle, which has a history of over 900 years, passed under Ottoman rule in 1468 after the conquest of Trabzon. The castle was transferred to the state as treasury property during the Turkish Republic period.

Rescue excavations were carried out in 2007 in the castle, which was expropriated in 2005 for 475,000 Turkish Liras.

Although most of the castle, which is made of rubble and cut stone, has been destroyed, its main body has survived to the present day, and in recent years the castle has been used as agricultural land and a children’s playground.