5,000-Year-Old Ceramics Unearthed in İzmir’s Smyrna Mound Reveal Early Trade Links

Archaeologists working at the Bayraklı settlement mound in İzmir — known as Old Smyrna Mound — have uncovered ceramic vessels dating back 5,000 years, shedding light on the region’s role as an emerging hub of Early Bronze Age trade.

The excavations, carried out under the Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism’s Heritage for the Future project and led by Prof. Dr. Aylin Ümit Erdem of Ege University, revealed beak-spouted jugs, ribbed bowls, and storage jars dating to the 3rd millennium BC. The finds are now being carefully restored.

Prof. Erdem noted that the discoveries mark the first time both architectural remains and ceramic assemblages from this early period have been identified at Bayraklı. “Ceramics tell us much more than daily life,” she explained. “They reveal production techniques, food habits, and above all, cultural interactions. The vessels we found point not only to local manufacture but also to connections with the Aegean islands, mainland Greece, Troy, and Central Anatolia.”

Smyrna’s Place in History

The mound of Bayraklı represents the earliest phase of Smyrna, one of western Anatolia’s most significant ancient cities. Archaeological evidence shows that the site was continuously inhabited from the 3rd millennium BC through the Iron Age, when Smyrna became a fortified Ionian settlement with a regular street plan — a hallmark of early urbanism in Anatolia.

Later, under Hellenistic rulers, the city was famously relocated to the slopes of Mount Pagos (modern Kadifekale) following the vision of Alexander the Great. Roman Smyrna flourished as a major port, renowned for its wealth, culture, and early Christian community, with one of the seven churches of Revelation located there. Today, İzmir stands as the modern heir to this deep historical legacy, while Bayraklı Höyük preserves the origins of the city’s 5,000-year story.

A Bronze Age Trade Crossroads

The newly uncovered ceramics underline Smyrna’s strategic role from its very beginnings. Positioned on the Aegean coast at the junction of east–west and north–south routes, Bayraklı was a natural gateway for maritime and inland trade.

“These finds show that İzmir was not an isolated settlement but a crossroads of interaction long before it became a famous classical city,” Prof. Erdem emphasized. “What we are uncovering is the foundation of Smyrna’s enduring identity as a trading port.”

Cover Photo: Kadir Özen/DHA