Teos Harbour – Archaic Mole at Sığacık
Teos mole · Geras of Teos harbour
Archaic to Hellenistic (c. 700–100 BCE)·Ionian Greek / Persian·🇹🇷 Izmir, Seferihisar–Sığacık, Turkey
About
About Teos Harbour – Archaic Mole at Sığacık
Teos, Ionian Dionysus city at Sığacık, commanded a 110 m Archaic mole at –1 m enclosing the southern harbour, while northern harbour silted under Sığacık lagoon. Tuna–Kızıl (2002–2018) mapping shows ashlar mole headers at –1 m with Teian terracotta, and silted ship-shed cuttings now meadow with 6th c. BCE sherds at 0.8 m. Harbour shift from south to north mirrored Teos wine export peak; mole reuse layers indicate Persian (546 BCE) and Hellenistic rebuilds. Harbour mud with Teos amphora stamps anchors Ionian sea-level.
Why it mattersBest Archaic mole in Ionia; mole phasing anchors Teian wine amphora chronology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether northern basin had mole or естественных лагун
Theories
- 01Persian rebuild added marble spolia after 546 sack
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 700 BCE (harbour); mole 6th c. BCE
- Period
- Archaic to Hellenistic (c. 700–100 BCE)
- Culture
- Ionian Greek / Persian
- Purpose
- Wine and Dionysiac marble harbour – Teian pottery export to Egypt
- Abandoned
- c. 100 BCE (siltation and Ephesus ascendancy)
- Rediscovered
- V. Tuna survey 1990s; Kızıl diving 2015
- Excavation
- Submerged
c. 700 BCE
Teos harbour in use
546 BCE
Persian conquest rebuilds mole
2015
Kızıl maps 110 m mole at –1 m
On the ground
Structures & features
38.1830° N · 26.7830° E · -1 m · 3 mapped features
Archaic Harbour Mole
mole110 m ashlar mole at –1 m – Teian mole off Sığacık at Teos Harbour – Archaic Mole at Sığacık
38.1840° N · 26.7840° ENorthern Silted Basin
harbour300×200 m silted northern harbour – ship-shed cuttings at 0.8 m at Teos Harbour – Archaic Mole at Sığacık
38.1820° N · 26.7820° ETemple of Dionysus Axis
structureHarbour to temple axis – paved road 400 m at Teos Harbour – Archaic Mole at Sığacık
38.1850° N · 26.7850° E
Gallery