Friday, February 26, 2016

Watch: The Theodosian Walls, a Reconstruction


The Land Walls, of which great parts survive, were built between 408 and 413 by the emperor Theodosios II. From the older Constantinian Walls only the Old golden Gate did still exist in the late byzantine time. The Land Walls consisted of a main wall, a lower front wall that was perhaps added only in 447, and a trench that was divided in sections and could be filled with water. A number of gates provided acces to the city, among which the Golden Gate is the most important one. The Land Walls were frequently restored, and they were never taken by a foreign power before 1453 when the Ottomans destroyed parts of it by their artillery.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Byzantine Grave Found in Istanbul

From Hurriyet:

Archaeologists have uncovered a Roman-Byzantine grave underneath Istanbul’s famous İstiklal Avenue, providing evidence of human activity in one of the city’s most important areas at a date earlier than previously thought.

The grave was unearthed during the restoration of the historic Casa Garibaldi building on the avenue when a worker discovered a 1,600- to 1800-year-old skull eight meters under the surface.