3 August 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The 3,000-Year-Old Ancient City is Under Danger

For the port planned to be built in Izmir’s Aliağa district, a part of the 3,000-year-old ancient city is in danger of extinction. With the zoning plan approved by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, 88 thousand square meters of filling will be made in the ancient city.

According to the report of Gökmen Ulu from Sözcü Newspaper; It has been decided to build a new port in İzmir’s Aliağa District Çakmaklı District. The designated port area is located in the southwest of the city, south of Nemrut Bay, in Namura (Namurt) Bay. it’s here located the 3,000-year-old ancient city of Kyme.

Site rating downgraded first

The archaeological site was the first-degree archaeological site. The Izmir Cultural and Natural Heritage Preservation Board No.2 on March 28, 2019, with decision number 2253, reduced the quality of the remaining part of the ancient city in the port construction area to the third-degree site.

Archaeologist Nuray Pehlivan stated that the project was prepared for the Nemport Company to increase the capacity of the port, saying “This means a massacre for Kyme”

Ministry Approves Plans

The 1/5000 and 1/1000 Scaled Master Plan for Harbor Purpose and the Master Plan for the Protection of the Third Degree Archeological Site were approved by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization on December 31, 2020. The plans will remain suspended until January 29, 2021.

Massacre for KYME

Environmental organizations had made warnings by protesting the project. Archaeologist Nuray Pehlivan, who worked at the Kyme Excavation Committee for a period, stated that the project was prepared for Nemport Company to increase the port capacity, and used the expressions “This means massacre for Kyme”. The Pehlivan also reacted to the committee’s reduction of the archaeological site quality of the ancient city to the third degree.

Kyme, which was strengthened by agriculture and maritime trade, was the metropolis of nearly 30 cities. One of the famous kings of Kyme was Agammemnon.

One of the Oldest Cities in the World

Kyme, BC by the peoples from Northern Greece. It was the largest Aiolis city founded in the middle of the 11th century.Archaeological findings revealed that Kyme was one of the first cities to issue coins in the archaic period and was very economically developed.

Kyme, which was strengthened by agriculture and maritime trade, was the metropolis of nearly 30 cities. One of the famous kings of Kyme was Agammemnon. The origin of Hesiodos, one of the famous poets of the period, was also Kyme. The Kymians were especially skilled in jewelry.

It was determined that life continued in Kyme until the 12th century. Some inscriptions and sculptures in the ancient city, which were unearthed in 1874, were smuggled to the Louvre Museum in France in 1881, and jewelry, jewelry, and ceramic artifacts were smuggled to the British Museum in England in 1876. Most of the artifacts found in the archaeological site, where excavations continue, are exhibited in the Izmir Archeology Museum.

Related Articles

Spectacular ancient mosaic found in Paphos, Cyprus

21 July 2021

21 July 2021

During the excavations carried out on Fabrika Hill in Kato Paphos, Cyprus, an ancient mosaic floor belonging to the Hellenistic...

A woman was buried in a canoe on her way to the ‘destination of souls’ 800 years ago

25 August 2022

25 August 2022

According to new research, Up to 800 years ago, mourners buried a young woman in a ceremonial canoe to represent...

Archaeologist Reconstructs 2,000-Year-Old Roman Frescoes from Thousands of Fragments in ‘World’s Toughest Jigsaw’

19 June 2025

19 June 2025

What started as a pile of broken plaster fragments has become one of the most remarkable reconstruction projects in British...

In Parion, one of the most important cities of the Troas region, 2,000-year-old mother-child graves were unearthed

1 November 2022

1 November 2022

Archaeological excavations in the ancient city of Parion, the most important harbor city in the Hellenistic era, have uncovered  2,000-year-old...

Mosaics found in Türkiye’s Sinop belong to dining room of a wealthy family

24 June 2023

24 June 2023

The pebble mosaics unearthed during the excavation of a building complex in the province of Sinop on Turkey’s Black Sea...

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...

2.3-meter sword found in 4th-century tomb in Japan

27 January 2023

27 January 2023

The largest bronze mirror and the largest “dako” iron sword in Japan were discovered at the Tomio Maruyama burial mound...

Unique ‘Excalibur’ Sword Found Upright in Ground Unearthed in Spain Holds Islamic Origins

26 April 2024

26 April 2024

Researchers have finally unraveled the mysteries of the historical sword discovered in Spain 30 years ago, which they named ‘Excalibur’...

Neolithic village discovered in northeastern France after 150 years of research

29 August 2023

29 August 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered traces of a permanent settlement in the vast Neolithic site of the Marais de Saint-Gond in northeastern...

2,500-Year-Old Phoenician Shipwreck Being Rescued By Spanish Archaeologists

6 July 2023

6 July 2023

A 2,500-year-old Phoenician shipwreck has been found underwater in the southeastern Spanish region of Murcia. An extraordinary Phoenician shipwreck dating...

The Headless Corpses of Somersham was Victims of Roman Executions

30 May 2021

30 May 2021

Excavations at Knobb’s Farm in Somersham, Cambridgeshire, unearthed three small late Roman graves on the outskirts of an agricultural village....

Man-made Viking-era cave discovered in Iceland Bigger, Older Than Previously Thought

2 June 2022

2 June 2022

Archaeologists from the Archaeological Institute of Iceland have uncovered an extensive system of interconnected structures that are not only much...

Medieval Mummy Seized in Niğde, Türkiye, Amidst Smuggling Crackdown

12 March 2025

12 March 2025

Authorities in Türkiye have detained six individuals in the Bor district of Niğde, who were allegedly attempting to sell an...

Researchers Unearthed the First Known Neanderthal Footprints in Portugal

16 July 2025

16 July 2025

New tracksites reveal how Neanderthals navigated Portugal’s ancient dunes 80,000 years ago In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have unearthed the...

2,000-Year-Old Unique Composite Fish Scaled Armor Found in Ancient Tomb

20 December 2024

20 December 2024

Chinese researchers have recently found fish-scaled armor in the tomb of Liu He, Marquis of Haihun from the Western Han...