Underwater work in the ancient city of Parion in the Biga district of Çanakkale in northwestern Türkiye has uncovered a 2,700-year-old military harbor dating back to the Roman Empire.
The military harbor is the second harbor found in the ancient city.
Excavations in the ancient city of Parion, which was an important trade center of the period due to its strategic location, are being carried out by a team headed by Prof. Dr. Vedat Keleş, Dean of the Faculty of Human and Social Sciences of Ondokuz Mayıs University (OMU) with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
Excavation head Vedat Keleş said the following: “This harbor is a little smaller than the southern harbor, which served as a commercial harbor, and is filled with silt accumulated by the river passing through the city. Parion was a legion colony, so it is possible that this harbor was a military port.”
Stating that this is the 20th year of the excavations in Parion, Keleş said, “This is an important source of pride for us. When we look at 20 years, I think that the Parion work has done its part in the past 20 years in terms of excavation, restoration-conservation, publication and training of scientists. This year, we initiated underwater studies. As we all know, Parion is an important port city in the Northern Troas. We already knew that we had a southern port. This is mentioned in ancient sources. We were thinking there could also be a northern port. But this was always a question mark in our minds. With the underwater studies, we have determined that this place is also a port.”
Stating that Parion was a legion colony, Keleş said, “However, this port is a little smaller in size than the southern port, which is the trade port, and its interior is filled with alluviums accumulated by the stream passing through the city. Parion is a legion colony. Therefore, there may be a possibility that this place is a military port. The underwater studies we will carry out will give us more detailed information on this issue.”
Keleş noted that excavations continued in two places during the excavation season: “One is theater, the other is the agora. Foreign faculty members work in the agora. We work in the theater. The theater work is difficult because it is destroyed. Because a city wall was built over the stage building and almost all the seating rows and architectural parts of the theater were used within this city wall. Therefore, the structure seems to have changed considerably in the late period. Even though we have some trouble due to this destruction, our work progresses slowly. Apart from this, restoration work also continues.”
Keleş expressed their aim to elevate Parion to its deserved status in the near future, stating: ” As a young excavation team, the city we are excavating has a high level of destruction. We need to fully uncover the city. Therefore, we need labor support. I would like to appeal to local authorities. If they support us, especially by providing labor support, we can continue our excavations uninterrupted throughout the year, as the climate permits.”
The origin of its name is not clear, but one theory suggests that it may have been named after Parion, the son of Iason or Demetria from Erythrai, or even Paris, the prince of Troy. Having been established as a port city, the Parion Ancient City is known as the largest ancient city within the region with a diameter of approximately 4 km. In ancient times, Parion functioned as an important harbor for the surrounding settlements.
In 546 BC, Parion became a Greek city under Persian rule, and later in 334 BC, it fell under the sovereignty of Alexander the Great after he invaded Asia Minor. After his death, the city was taken over by the Attalid from Pergamon. As a part of the Pergamon Kingdom, Parion was handed over to the Romans by the will of Attalos III in 133 BC.
