Yassi Ada — 4th Century Roman Wreck Reef
Late Roman/Byzantine (c.350 CE commercial vessel 21 m)·Late Roman merchant (4th c. CE Yassi Ada 350 CE; later 7th c. Byzantine wreck same reef)·🇹🇷 Aegean Sea, Bodrum Peninsula, Yassi Ada island reef, Güllük Bay, near Turgutreis, Turkey
About
About Yassi Ada — 4th Century Roman Wreck Reef
Yassi Ada Bass 1960 pioneer underwater arch, roman 4th and 7th wrecks same reef. Recorded context — Period: Late Roman/Byzantine (c.350 CE commercial vessel 21 m); Culture: Late Roman merchant (4th c. CE Yassi Ada 350 CE; later 7th c. Byzantine wreck same reef); Field status: excavated; Materials: pine hull, African amphorae, Late Roman glass; Condition: wreck — submerged 40 m, hull to Bodrum museum.
Why it mattersKey Late Roman merchant (4th c. CE Yassi Ada 350 CE; later 7th c. Byzantine wreck same reef) submerged-city with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Collapse cause
- 02Astronomical alignment
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre
- 02Seasonal gathering
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. 350 CE wreck; sunk with African amphorae
- Period
- Late Roman/Byzantine (c.350 CE commercial vessel 21 m)
- Culture
- Late Roman merchant (4th c. CE Yassi Ada 350 CE; later 7th c. Byzantine wreck same reef)
- Purpose
- Late Roman shipwreck (21 m hull with 900 amphorae African) on 40 m reef — Yassi Ada Glass Institute 1960s pioneering underwater find
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1892
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 350 CE wreck; sunk with African amphorae
Initial construction / first occupation at Yassi Ada — 4th Century Roman Wreck Reef
2005 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Yassi Ada — 4th Century Roman Wreck Reef
On the ground
Structures & features
36.9920° N · 27.1820° E · -45 m · 3 mapped features
- Yassi Ada — 4th Century Roman Wreck Reef — Principal Harbourharbourharbour at Yassi Ada — 4th Century Roman Wreck Reef — subsidiary complex36.9902° N · 27.1815° E
- Yassi Ada — 4th Century Roman Wreck Reef — Wall Annex 2wallwall at Yassi Ada — 4th Century Roman Wreck Reef — primary structure36.9937° N · 27.1815° E
- Yassi Ada — 4th Century Roman Wreck Reef — Temple Annex 3templetemple at Yassi Ada — 4th Century Roman Wreck Reef — subsidiary complex36.9901° N · 27.1801° E