Interior of the Bucoleon Palace
On a Saturday evening in 1997 a man rushed into the offices of Alpay Pasinli- the director of Istanbul’s Museum of Archeology- and breathlessly announced that he had made a discovery. He had been charged with excavating an old Ottoman prison that stood between the Hagia Sophia and the gates to the Topkapi Palace, but had found instead an entrance into Byzantium’s fabled Great Palace. The core of the imperial building- or more precisely the complex of buildings- was erected by Constantine the Great in the fourth century and had gradually expanded until by the ninth century it covered more than four and a half acres. Embellished by some of the most powerful emperors at a time when the empire was quite literally dripping in gold, it had widely been seen as a wonder of the medieval world- a fitting residence for those who claimed to be the supreme rulers of the known world.
But as the centuries wore on and the fortunes of the empire declined, the buildings fell into disrepair. By the twelfth century even the emperors had abandoned them, preferring to live in the newer, more fashionable palaces on the opposite side of the city. When Constantinople finally fell in 1453 the Great Palace was a series of shambling ruins. Attempting to place their own stamp on their new capital the Ottomans pulled them down, constructing (among other things) the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi palace on the wreckage. With the exception of a few floor mosaics from the time of Justinian, the Great Palace vanished without a trace.
In 1997, however, it seemed to have dramatically reappeared. Pasinli found two stone steps leading down to the basements of the Palace, clogged with five centuries of debris. They were cleared to reveal a total of seventeen stairs leading to a tunnel and a network of corridors and passageways. Frescoes- mostly dating from the eighth century- adorned the brick walls, mostly cross motifs in yellow, red, and green. Collapsed water conduits blocked some of the passages, but intriguingly Pasinli could see a large lower chamber of vaulted brick arches and domes supported by 16-foot-tall stone columns. A hasty examination revealed it to be part of an archive housing manuscripts and icons. A geological survey conducted soon after showed hundreds of possible buried structures. Pasinli had found the lost Palace of the Caesars.
Such a major discovery should have made headlines worldwide, but Pasinli’s work remains largely unknown to this day and the site has never been re-entered. So what happened? There was something fittingly ‘byzantine’ in the way the entire operation collapsed. The old Ottoman prison- where the excavation had originally started- was part of a Four Seasons Hotel. Alpay Pasinli had connections with the hotel and the Turkish press accused him of conspiring with them to turn the discovery into a tourist bazaar- throwing in charges of artifact smuggling for good measure. With tensions rising on both sides the excavation was cancelled and a bitter Pasinli stopped talking to the press.
What happened to the artifacts is still unknown.
The Great Palace of Byzantium, it seems, likes to keep its secrets.
Interesting article. The Great Palace, or, rather, its remains in modern-day Istanbul are a great mystery indeed. While the area has been repeatedly built-over, some substructures remain–along with other, more prominent artefacts, such as the Great Palace mosaics you mention. These are now on display in the Mosaic Museum behind the Sultanahmet Mosque. The dating of these mosaics is uncertain (could be Justinian\\\’s reign, as you write in the article, but this is not certain). As for the substructures, I had the chance to visit them on several occasions. They are not open to the public and, since the Great Palace itself was an enormous complex, stretching from the Hippodrome down to the sea, we can\\\’t speak of a single building that can be identified as \\"the\\" Great Palace.
It\\\’s good to see you bringing attention to the issue. Excavations in Istanbul\\\’s historic peninsula, however, are a very tricky question… there are layers upon layers of history, and then there\\\’s the Turkish legislation and the interests of private stakeholders (e.g. the Four Seasons Hotel). From what I heard last year, the Four Seasons is now building an \\"archaeological park\\" to display the artifacts unearthed during the construction of the hotel\\\’s new wing. What exactly these artifacts are remains to be seen. Same for their being accessible to the public, as the hotel\\\’s grounds are, technically, private property.
The remains of the Boukoleon Palace (pictured), which was part of the Great Palace complex, are, too, in a state of decay. Some unfortunate people have made their home among the ruins, and so the palace structures are filled with trash and other products of human activity, while the people living there are wary of visitors and, generally, try to keep them out.
P.S. Did you take this picture while you were in Istanbul? I\\\’m curious as to where exactly this place is. I\\\’d like to go see it.
I took that picture when Lars and I were in Istanbul last. It is somewhere around the eastern-most tip of the outer sea walls. Its right next to that highway – we walked along it for some time before we found it. Walking North, its just past this:
http://www.anders.com/1offs/outer-sea-walls.jpg
Thanks for responding. I’ll definitely check it out once the weather gets better.
By the way, a class that I was TA’ing last semester created a blog on Byzantine monuments in Istanbul, where the students shared their impressions (and photographs) from our field trips in the city. Thought you might find it interesting: http://arha318.wordpress.com/
Cheers,
MK
I had yesterday completed the audio book of Lost To The West. It was fascinating to learn about this extension of the Roman Empire and Greek culture and how the existing of the empire ensured survival of many arts and sciences of a long ago era.
The audio book is read by the author Lars, who\’s passion shows through in the reading. Additionally his voice is well suited for audio books and I wish he would lend it to others.
Now I know of another event on the day of my birth. The unfortunate end of the Roman empire. Listen or read this work and discover something that you can relate to.
Enjoy!
Thanks Darryl. I always like to think that if we can find a reason to celebrate something (birthday) on a tragic day (May 29) then it goes a little way toward renewing it.