8 years ago, a basilica was found at a depth of 1.5-2 meters off the lake shore in the Iznik district of Bursa. Underwater archaeological excavations have been initiated and new discoveries are being made in research.
It is estimated that the basilica was buried in the lake due to the great earthquake in the region in 1065 or the rise of the waters. Under the presidency of Prof. Dr. Mustafa Şahin from Bursa Uludağ University, underwater excavations are continuing.
The research team captured a large number of finds during the dives that continued since the beginning of August. Among the notable ones is the pendant with the name and figure of St. Nicholas.
The American Archaeological Institute ranked this basilica as one of the 10 most important discoveries worldwide in 2014. Finding a pendant thought to belong to a pilgrim, it is considered as a sign that it was a pilgrim church at that time.
The dives, which started on August 3 this year, were completed at the end of last week. The reporting period has started. Mustafa Şahin said the following sentences about the excavation to AA:
“Excavations were carried out in the area called ’12-B’ this season. While excavating here, the question was: Was the whole church buried, or was it just the ‘U’-shaped section that we consider as a pool or well? Within months, we realized that only the ‘U’ shaped building in the atrium (courtyard) section was buried with broken architectural blocks. Other than that, there is no burial with broken architectural blocks in any way throughout the building. This means that the ‘U’ shaped structure must have been an important part of the church, which was buried and abandoned and was then asked not to be used by others in some way. In this direction, our research and work will continue in the next excavation seasons. So we will try to understand this secret.”
Among the important finds of this year is a pendant with the figure of St. Nicholas. Mustafa Şahin informed about the identity of St. Nicholas and its importance for Christianity.
“We know him more as ‘Santa Claus’. The saint’s relics (sacred artifacts and pieces) are not currently in Demre, but his church is in Demre. It is very important in that respect; a pilgrim caravan came here, or at least a pilgrim. A pilgrim who came to Demre by sea, probably after fulfilling his pilgrimage in Jerusalem, visited the church of St. Nicholas and bought a pendant from there as a souvenir. Later, he came to Iznik via Ephesus by land and visited the church that we are excavating now, and he probably left his pendant as a memory in the church if he did not drop it. The importance of this for us is that it is one of the important places that shows that the church we are excavating now was originally a pilgrim church, that is, people who visit this place can be called pilgrims. Therefore, we consider it the most important find of this year.”
The pendant with the figure of St. Nicholas in the middle was delivered to the İznik Museum.
Şahin said, “Our most important goal next year is to reach important information, findings and documents on whether the 1st Council really convened here. We will continue our work on this issue.” said