Clazomenae – Olive-Oil Harbour at Liman Tepe, Urla
Klazomenai Chyton Harbour · Liman Tepe Harbour
Archaic to Hellenistic (c. 650–100 BCE)·Ionian Greek·🇹🇷 Izmir, Urla, Turkey
About
About Clazomenae – Olive-Oil Harbour at Liman Tepe, Urla
Clazomenae at Liman Tepe, Ionia's olive-oil emporium, fronted a 6th c. BCE Archaic harbour whose wooden quay and olive-press warehouses are now 0.5 m submerged at Urla Iskelesi, while northern basin silts under Urla plain. Erkan-Cevik (2004–2015) coring and diving mapped Archaic ashlar quay at –0.5 m with olive-pit harbour mud and Chian amphora dumps, and classical mole 90 m at –1 m. Harbour siltation by the Balıklıova stream sealed eastern basin after Hellenistic period; the island quay off Karantina Island (later Alexander causeway) remains at –1 m. Harbour mud anchors olive-oil trade and Ionia sea-level.
Why it mattersOnly olive-oil harbour in Ionia with sealed pit mud; quay phasing anchors Chian trade and Urla sea-level.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Extent of olive-press warehouse row beneath Iskelesi
- 02Whether Karantina causeway reused harbour mole
Theories
- 01Olive-pit dump created artificial harbour bar accelerating siltation
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. 650 BCE (harbour in use); quay 6th c. BCE
- Period
- Archaic to Hellenistic (c. 650–100 BCE)
- Culture
- Ionian Greek
- Purpose
- Olive-oil export harbour – Clazomenae amphorae shipped to Black Sea
- Abandoned
- c. 100 BCE (siltation and move to Smyrna)
- Rediscovered
- 1921 Akurgal; 1990s Erkan harbour diving
- Excavation
- Submerged
c. 650 BCE
Clazomenae olive harbour in use
c. 540 BCE
Amasis-painted amphora quay built
2004
Erkan maps ashlar quay at –0.5 m
On the ground
Structures & features
38.3580° N · 26.7680° E · 0 m · 3 mapped features
Quay at Urla Iskelesi
quay90 m ashlar quay at –0.5 m – Chian amphora dump at Clazomenae – Olive-Oil Harbour at Liman Tepe, Urla
38.3590° N · 26.7690° ENorthern Silted Basin
harbour200×150 m silted northern basin – olive-pit mud under plain at Clazomenae – Olive-Oil Harbour at Liman Tepe, Urla
38.3570° N · 26.7680° EKarantina Mole
mole90 m Hellenistic mole at –1 m – island harbour arm at Clazomenae – Olive-Oil Harbour at Liman Tepe, Urla
38.3600° N · 26.7650° E
Gallery