1 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

2500-year-old ship graffiti sheds light on the history of Izmir in western Turkey

In the Smyrna Agora, which is one of the largest ancient agora in the city center of the world and has a history of 2,500 years; 21 ship depictions in the basement of the civil basilica, a commercial and judicial building, shed light on the past.

Ship graffiti drawn in the 3rd century is of great importance for our understanding of the ship technologies of the period.

The Agora of Smyrna was built by Greeks sometime in the 4th century BC and then rebuilt by the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius after the region was ruined by the earthquake. The Agora that you see nowadays started to take its shape in 1933 when the excavation of the site began.

The excavations revealed the commercial and judicial structure of the agora, which is one of the largest ancient period agoras of the world. Agoras were open spaces serving as meeting grounds for various activities in ancient Greek cities.

Civil basilica of the Agora of Smyrna.
Civil basilica of the Agora of Smyrna.

Akın Ersoy, a faculty member of the Turkish and Islamic Archaeology department of Izmir Katip Çelebi University, stated that the graffiti is one of the most concrete documents of the historical port city of Izmir.

He explained that after Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia who overthrew the Persian Empire, a brand-new Izmir city was built in the area where the Konak district center is now located. Stating that the area was mainly chosen because of its ability to serve as a port, he said: “The city planners wanted to ensure Izmir’s participation in the Mediterranean and Aegean trade. Also, there are many public buildings in the center of the Ancient City of Smyrna such as the civil basilica. Some of the ship depictions that we encountered in the basement of the civil basilica are made with paint while others through scraping lines.”

“These third-century ship graffiti indicate that Izmir was an important port city. The founders of the city constructed this agora, taking into account the port facilities, for Izmir to grow into an important city and become what it is today,” Ersoy underlined.

Izmir Katip Çelebi University Turkish and Islamic Archaeology faculty member Akın Ersoy talks about the ship graffiti found in the basement of the basilica, Agora of Smyrna, Izmir, southwestern Turkey. (DHA Photo)

Highlighting that the graffiti depicts commercial ships rather than warships, “We assume that these ships were making commercial voyages in the Mediterranean in the second, third, and fourth centuries B.C. The materials were transported from Egypt and North Africa to the Aegean,” he added.

Smyrna Agora

In ancient times, each city had at least one agora. Some big cities usually had 2 agoras. One of them is the state agora, where state affairs are seen and various public buildings are gathered, and the other is the trade agora, where commercial activities are concentrated.

İzmir agora is located on the northern slope of Pagos (Kadifekale), where the ancient city of Smyrna was relocated in the 4th century BC. This building, surrounded by important public buildings of the period, is the state agora of the city.

DHA

Related Articles

2000-year-old Ancient Greek ‘graduate school yearbook’ carved in stone found

5 June 2022

5 June 2022

Historians have discovered that an ancient Greek inscription on a marble slab in the collection of the National Museums of...

This Month in the “You Will See What You Don’t See” Project

11 February 2021

11 February 2021

Izmir Archeology Museum started to exhibit the unseen artifacts in its warehouses last month in the project that started under...

A First in Türkiye: ‘Pilgrim Dimitrakis’ Inscribed Skull Found in Sinop

1 August 2024

1 August 2024

A male skull with the Greek inscription “Pilgrim Dimitrakis” was found during archaeological excavations at Balatlar Church in Sinop, on...

Mesopotamian bricks reveal the strength of Earth’s ancient magnetic field

19 December 2023

19 December 2023

Ancient Mesopotamian bricks reveal the details of a curious strengthening of the Earth’s magnetic field, according to a new study...

The mythical hero of Troy and Rome Aeneas’s peerless mosaic discovered in Türkiye

11 May 2023

11 May 2023

A large mosaic depicting the legendary Trojan hero Aeneas, the protagonist of Virgil’s epic poem “The Aeneid” and the ancestor...

Ancient Christian Settlement Discovered in Egypt

14 March 2021

14 March 2021

The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities said on Saturday that a French-Norwegian archaeological team had discovered a new ancient Christian settlement...

The 11-meter giant statue of the island of Naxos “Dionysus of Apollonas”

22 March 2023

22 March 2023

One of the two ancient marble quarries, thought to have begun the sculpture, the greatest art of antiquity, is located...

Researchers Suggest That the 5,000-Year-Old Boat-Shaped Mound May Be Fossilized Remains of Noah’s Ark

16 March 2025

16 March 2025

A recent discovery in Türkiye has ignited interest among experts who believe they may have found the fossilized remains of...

A Unique Structure Discovered in the City of David Ancient Jerusalem – The Only One of Its Kind

14 January 2025

14 January 2025

A unique structure was discovered on the eastern slope of the City of David, within the Walls of the Jerusalem...

Scientists reveal new discovery inside the Pyramid of Khufu

20 March 2023

20 March 2023

An Egyptian pyramid for 4,500 years is still spilling secrets. After a years-long project using modern technology to reveal the...

New Evidence could Change the Date People First Arrived in North America

2 June 2021

2 June 2021

While investigating the origins of agriculture, researchers made an unexpected discovery. According to an unexpected finding made by an Iowa...

Archaeologists Uncover Evidence of British Rule in Florida

29 March 2025

29 March 2025

A recent archaeological excavation in St. Augustine, Florida, has revealed a British redoubt dating back to 1781, offering valuable insight...

Fragments of ‘unique’ 17th-century iconostasis discovered in Polish church

28 October 2023

28 October 2023

Researchers from the Institute of Art at the Polish Academy of Sciences (IS PAN) have discovered substantial fragments of a...

5,000 years old Mother Goddess statuette unearthed in Yeşilova Mound

25 October 2023

25 October 2023

A Mother Goddess statuette, determined to be 5 thousand years old, was found during the excavations carried out in the...

Rare Five Bronze Age Axes found in the Forests of Poland

5 December 2023

5 December 2023

Archaeologists in Poland have discovered five Bronze Age axes in Starogard Forest District, located in Kociewie. A metal detectorist named...