Seascape archaeology of the harbour of Constantinople at Kü ük ekmece Lake basin – land and underwater surveys, communication and economical networks, mobility

The aim of the project is to investigate the largest, yet previously completely unknown, port of Constantinople (from the 6th to the 14th century). The archaeological sites that are the source basis of our study are located in the basin of Lake Kü ük ekmece, connected by the Myrmex Strait to the Sea of Marmara, 18 km west of the Bosphorus, behind the walls of Constantinople, in the European part of Thrace. The complex of port sites situated in the basin of Lake Kücükekmece forms the largest port of Constantinople. The total length of its quays exceeds 3 km. It is larger than all previously known ports of the imperial capital put together. Previously only small relics of the harbour quays were known to have been unearthed within the city of Rhegion, located on the south-eastern shore of the lake, excavated in 1938-1942 and 1948 (Ogan 1939; Ogan, Mansel 1942). The largest part of the port foundation as well as the ecclesiastical complex was discovered in 2007 on the Firuzk y peninsula on the western shore of the lake (Aydıngün,  niz 2008; 2009). Further wharves were discovered as a result of underwater sonar surveys, aerial photography and surface and excavation research carried out across the lake basin between 2014 and 2021 as a result of Turkish-Polish research projects including the project financed by the National Science Centre ( niz 2017; Stanisławski, Aydingün,  niz 2016; Stanisławski 2017; Stanisławski, Aydingün 2021; Stanisławski, Szymański 2021).