2,300-Year-Old Apse Discovered in Istanbul’s ‘City of the Blind’
During an excavation in Istanbul’s historic Haydarpaşa train station, archaeologists discovered a semicircular apse—a structure commonly associated with ancient churches—dating to the 3rd century B.C.E. It is the latest find at the site of the ancient port city of Chalcedon by a team led by archaeologist Mehmet Ali Polat. According to the Turkish publication Hurriyet Daily News, which first reported the news, it may be the oldest building excavated at the site so far.
While archaeologists are still unsure of the newly discovered apse’s specific function, they believe the area would have been sacred. In ancient architecture, an apse was often located at the end of an aisle, where a recessed niche could hold the statue of a deity. The building where the apse was discovered could have functioned as a shrine or possibly even a mausoleum.
Chalcedon, also known as Khalkedon, was founded by Megarian Greek colonists on … Read the rest
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