Pitane Harbour – Aeolian Harbour at Çandarlı
Pitane West Port · Çandarlı harbour
Archaic to Genoese (c. 700 BCE – 1300 CE)·Aeolian Greek / Genoese·🇹🇷 Izmir, Çandarlı, Turkey
About
About Pitane Harbour – Aeolian Harbour at Çandarlı
Pitane at Çandarlı, Aeolian shipyard harbour, preserves a 90 m western quay at –1 m and eastern silted basin under Genoese castle plain. Bean–Coulton survey and Akurgal diving mapped ashlar quay headers at –1 m with 6th c. BCE Aeolian black-ware, and ship-shed ramp at –0.5 m. Eastern basin silted by Bakırçay after Hellenistic period; harbour mud contains Myrina amphorae. Genoese castle (14th c.) reuses harbour ashlar. Harbour is type-site for Aeolian shipyard technology.
Why it mattersOnly Aeolian shipyard quay; phasing anchors Bakırçay silt chronology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether eastern basin mole existed
Theories
- 01Ship-shed ramp cut for trireme maintenance
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); quay 6th c. BCE
- Period
- Archaic to Genoese (c. 700 BCE – 1300 CE)
- Culture
- Aeolian Greek / Genoese
- Purpose
- Aeolian shipbuilding harbour – timber and pitch export
- Abandoned
- 1300 CE (Genoese shift to Foça)
- Rediscovered
- 1968 Bean; 2010 Çandarlı quay diving
- Excavation
- Submerged
c. 700 BCE
Pitane Aeolian colony founded
1990
Akurgal maps quay at –1 m
On the ground
Structures & features
38.9281° N · 26.9372° E · -1 m · 3 mapped features
Western Ashlar Quay
quay90 m ashlar quay at –1 m at Pitane Harbour – Aeolian Harbour at Çandarlı
38.9290° N · 26.9380° EEastern Silted Basin
harbour250×150 m silted eastern basin – castle plain at Pitane Harbour – Aeolian Harbour at Çandarlı
38.9270° N · 26.9360° EShip-Shed Ramp
structureRock-cut ship-shed ramp at –0.5 m at Pitane Harbour – Aeolian Harbour at Çandarlı
38.9295° N · 26.9370° E