Bathonea
Bathonea (Ancient Greek: Βαθονεία) is the probable name of a local community division known as a hekatostys (ἑκατοστύς, meaning "Hundred") of Byzantion or Rhegion that has generated considerable archaeological interest after being erroneously promoted as a "lost" city.[1] It is located on the European shore of the sea of Marmara, 20 km west from Istanbul, Turkey in Küçükçekmece.[2][3]
Among the claims are that it was at some point home to some of the Varangian Guards, elite Norsemen guards & settlers in Constantinople.[4][5][6][7][8] The ruins found at the site, which have always remained visible, were studied extensively in 1930, specially during the Republican era by the Swiss archeologist Ernest Mamboury,[9] who firstly thought and identified the settlement as the town of Rhegion based on some ancient sources.[9]
In 2009 though, a new identification was proposed, as the Hellenistic-Roman city of Bathonea, which was taken as fact, generating considerable academic and public interest[2][3] At the present, excavations are conducted under the direction of Dr. Şengül Aydıngün, an associate Professor of the Kocaeli University, and it continues to be promoted as a "lost" city despite the presence of only scant archaeological remains and no such city ever being referenced by any known contemporary sources from the Classical or Byzantine periods.
Name[edit]
Because archeologists are at a site unknown by any historical sources, they are hesitant to draw conclusions. The name "Bathonea" is indeed a placeholder, taken from two inspirations. Pliny the Elder's Natural History names a river feeding the lake as the "Bathynias." Also, a monk named Theopanes' work refers to the local region as "Bathyasos." These are both likely variants of the name of the hekatostys.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Oğuz Tekin, "Bathonea. A Site that Never Existed", (2017), [1]
- ^ a b "Heritage Key". Archived from the original on 27 July 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2010.
- ^ a b "Greatest finds of the year". The Independent. 7 January 2010.
- ^ Albert, Daniel (11 November 2021). "Miklagard: When the Vikings Reached Constantinople". Life in Norway. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ Klein, Christopher (19 October 2018). "Globetrotting Vikings: The Quest for Constantinople". HISTORY. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "Miklagard (The Great City)". www.viking.no. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ "İstanbul'daki Viking Mahallesi – Güncel Haberler Milliyet". www.milliyet.com.tr. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ Arkeofili (12 October 2020). "İstanbul'daki Vikingler Sağlıksız ve Güçsüzdü". Arkeofili (in Turkish). Retrieved 1 July 2022.
- ^ a b Mamboury (1953)
Sources[edit]
- Mamboury, Ernest (1953). The Tourists' Istanbul. Istanbul: Çituri Biraderler Basımevi.
External links[edit]
- Pinkowski, Jennifer (23 January 2012). "Istanbul Yields a Treasure Trove in Ancient Bathonea". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
41°02′01″N 28°44′02″E / 41.0335°N 28.7339°E
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