1 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Drought unveils sunken basilica in Turkey

The sunken basilica remains discovered in 2014 became visible as a result of Lake Iznik’s water withdrawal.

Climate change is having an impact not only on the oceans but also on large inland lakes. Known as Askania in ancient times, Iznik Lake with a surface area of 298 km² and an altitude of 85 m; Turkey’s fifth is the largest lake in the Marmara Region. Lake Iznik is adversely affected by seasonal drought and presents an example of how a waterbody can and will change. Once a prominent structure on dry land covered by water in the subsequent centuries, an ancient basilica’s ruins rose up again in the lake recently.

The drawdown in the lake reached up to 50 meters and it also affected the basilica area 20 meters offshore and 1.5 – 2 meters deep.

This ancient basilica in Bursa was built around A.D. 4 on the shore of the lake beside the city of Nicaea, which is known as Iznik today. However, it was destroyed in an earthquake in A.D. 8 and later became submerged as the lake level changed. The submerged basilica was cited among the most significant discoveries in 2014 in the world. The basilica is predicted to have been built in honor of Saint Neophytos. It was most likely the site of the first Nicaea Ecumenical Council, according to archaeologists.

Sunken basilica in İznik lake
Photo: AA

Taylan Sevil, the former director of the İznik Museum, told Anadolu Agency that a large part of the basilica has now re-emerged and merged with the lakeside.

The sunken basilica that was discovered in 2014 has recently become visible as a result of Lake Iznik’s water levels dropping, according to Taylan Sevil. Sevil also emphasized the basilica’s historical significance in terms of archaeology.

Sevil added that the historical basilica is one of the most significant discoveries of the century in the annals of world archaeology. Due to the low water levels brought on by climate change, the basilica, which was once submerged in the lake but has since merged with the landscape, is now accessible on foot.

Archaeologists recently uncovered important finds in the sunken basilica. You can read the latest developments by clicking the link below.

Related Articles

Fossil of a hominid child who died almost 250,000 years ago discovered in South Africa

8 November 2021

8 November 2021

A team of international and South African researchers uncovered the fossil remains of an early hominid kid who died almost...

Archaeologists Discover 40,000-Year-Old Evidence of Neanderthal Habitation in Ghamari Cave, Iran

13 March 2025

13 March 2025

Iranian archaeologists have made a groundbreaking discovery in Ghamari Cave (also known as Qamari Cave), located near Khorramabad in Lorestan...

Restoration of the Duomo of Florence has revealed original polychrome paint

1 December 2022

1 December 2022

During the restoration of the Porta dei Cornacchini and the marble cladding of the northern side of Florence’s Duomo, extensive...

Beer remains that are 9,000 years old have been discovered in China’s unique Hu pots

3 September 2021

3 September 2021

Archaeologists in southeast China have discovered evidence of beer consumption in ceramic vessels at the burial site called Qiaotou. The...

Anchorage’s Indigenous History: A 1000-Year-Old Dene Cache Found Near Cook Inlet

24 January 2025

24 January 2025

In June 2024, archaeologists from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) and Northern Land Use Research Alaska discovered a birch bark-lined cache...

A large hall from the time of Viking Harald Bluetooth discovered

26 December 2022

26 December 2022

A large hall from the reign of King Harald Bluetooth of Denmark and Norway was unearthed during housing construction work...

The Oldest Known Carvel-Built Shipwreck in the Nordic Region Found

6 March 2025

6 March 2025

Maritime archaeologists from the Museum of Wrecks (Vrak) in Stockholm have made a groundbreaking discovery off the coast of Sweden:...

2,000-year-old Monumental Tomb of Roman Elite discovered in Apollon Smintheus sanctuary in Türkiye

2 January 2024

2 January 2024

A 2,000-year-old monumental tomb from the Roman era has been unearthed at the Apollon Smintheus Sanctuary in the village of...

The 4,500-year-old Wisconsin canoe was built around the same time that Stonehenge was being constructed

31 May 2024

31 May 2024

Historians from Wisconsin have reported the amazing finding of at least eleven prehistoric canoes in Lake Mendota, which is close...

Unique Rock Tomb Discovered in Southeastern Türkiye’s Şanlıurfa

3 March 2025

3 March 2025

Hasan Şıldak, the governor of the city of Şanlıurfa in south-eastern Türkiye, announced on his social media account that a...

Europe’s Oldest Megalithic Alignments Dated with Unprecedented Precision

28 June 2025

28 June 2025

New research reveals that the Carnac alignments in Brittany may be Europe’s oldest megalithic monuments, pushing back the timeline of...

The Light of the Patara Lighthouse will Shine Again After Centuries

1 March 2025

1 March 2025

The ancient lighthouse in Patara, built by Roman Emperor Nero and destroyed by natural disasters, has reached the final stages...

Well-Preserved Wooden Houses Over 2,000 Years Old Discovered in Zhejiang, China

15 March 2025

15 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find, researchers in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China, have uncovered exceptionally well-preserved wooden houses dating back over...

The Oldest Known Map of Europe, “Saint-Bélec Slab”

6 April 2021

6 April 2021

An ornate Bronze Age stone slab (Saint-Bélec slab) that was excavated in France in 1900 and forgotten about for over...

2,000-Year-Old Hellenistic Tomb Discovered Under Collapsed Port Road in Northern Cyprus

24 June 2025

24 June 2025

A routine alert about a collapsed road at Gazimağusa Port in Northern Cyprus has led to a remarkable archaeological breakthrough....