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©The Archaeological Settlements of Turkey - TAY Project
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Bukoleon Sarayi |
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For site maps and drawings please click on the picture...  |
For photographs please click on the photo...  |
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Type:
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Palace and Harbor |
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Plan Type:
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Year of Costruction:
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10th c. |
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Phase:
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Middle |
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Investigation Method:
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Survey Excavation |
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Altitude:
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0 |
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Region:
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Marmara |
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Province:
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Istanbul |
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District:
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Fatih |
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Village:
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Küçük Ayasofya Mah. |
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Antique Name:
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Constantinople |
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| Location: The façade of the palace on the sea walls of Byzantium and the harbour are visible around Çatlakkapi in the Eminönü District of Istanbul between Ahirkapi and Kumkapi on the Kennedy Street, running along the Sea of Marmara from Sirkeci until Florya. |
| Geography and Environment: The Palace of Bukoleon was a seashore palace included within the complex of the Great Palace. Directly erected on the sea walls of Marmara, it had a harbor descended by stairs. The harbor was entirely allocated to the emperors. The sea was at the bottom of the walls before the start of the construction of the coastal road in 1956. A few hundred meters far from the building stand the Monastery of Sergios and Bakkhos (The Mosque of Little St. Sophia), and to the north lies the Hippodrome. |
| Research and Excavation: Being part of the Great Palace, this seashore palace was first referred in the book called "De Cerimoniis" written by the Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (913-59) during the 10th century, describing the ceremonial procedures in the palace [Porphyregennete 1935-1936]. When the great fire in 1912 destroyed all the buildings in the neighbourhood, the ruins were exposed so that a survey and excavation were initiated by T. Wiegand in the Great Palace in 1913. Those studies and excavations which went on intermittently until 1918 were published as a book [Mamboury-Wiegand 1934]. The second excavations were initiated by the St. Andrews University in 1951, and the research in Bukoleon was undertaken by S. Corbett in 1953 [Corbett 1958]. The floor mosaics in opus sectile technique and the colored wall tiles uncovered during the excavation of a foundation in 1983 were investigated by N. Asgari [Asgari 1984:45-46, pics. 12-16]. Some cleaning and excavation works were held at the Palace of Bukoleon and the Imperial Harbor between 1993-1994 within the context of the overall restoration works for the city walls of Istanbul. |
| Description: Building Phases: Although it has been suggested that the seashore palace was built by Hormisdas, who took refuge in the Byzantine palace escaping from Iran during the reign of Constantine (306-337) in the first half of the 4th century, or it was built during the reign of Theodosius II (408-450), and then renovated by the Emperor Justinian during the 6th century, no archaeological evidence exists showing any traces from the above mentioned periods. In the 10th century, Nicephorus II Phocas (963-969) enclosed the seashore palace with a wall, also including the part of the Great Palace extending until the imperial lodge at the Hippodrome so that it was started to have been used as imperial palace while the other sections were abandoned, and demolished in time [Mango 1997]. The palace was entirely abandoned from the 14th century [Müller-Wiener 2001:225-228, pic. 257-261]. Architectural Features: The Palace of Bukoleon consists of an imperial harbor projecting toward the sea on top of the seawalls, a large façade with a balcony extending to the lighthouse to the east of the harbor, some vaulted structures between the city wall and the present railway and an enclosing wall around the complex, stretching up to the imperial lodge at the Hippodrome. The extant remains of the city wall enclosing this seashore palace have been greatly destroyed during the railway construction [Mango 1997: pic. 5]. Seven windows or gates with large arches on the façade facing the sea were opening into a balcony supported by consoles in front. The façade was added onto the wall of big cutstones later on. Behind it is a vaulted hall extending up to 65 m long. To the north runs the railway, and the ruins extending to the Hippodrome are not visible anymore. The projected part to the west of the palace is known as the imperial harbor, which was accessed through a big staircase, and two openings with larger arches in this square area to the south and east open into the sea. These arches had been walled up later on, just allowing a small door. There is a cistern with three naves under the staircase, which connected the palace with the harbor. |
| Finds: The cleaning and excavation works carried out in 1993-1994 yielded many architectural plastic elements as well ceramics, mosaics and stamped bricks, which have been subject to a MA thesis [Utkan 1996]. Architectural Plastic: Plenty of plates, columns and capitals, and inscribed fragments were uncovered [Utkan 1996:30-56]. During a construction excavation approximately 25 m far from the palace, a floor mosaic of 3x2 m in opus sectile technique with a qualified workmanship, and colored and glazed wall tiles of the interior decoration of the structure the mosaics belong to, and architectural coating plates were found. Also found is a marble plate with an angle relief. All finds are dated to the 10th-11th centuries [Asgari 1984:46, res. 17-19]. Pottery: The excavations conducted in a total of five soundings in the western pavilion of the palace and the imperial harbor, and two garbage dumps for ceramics yielded plenty of glazed and unglazed pots in various forms. The glazed pots were mostly made in grafitto technique with redware. Glazes in dirty yellow and green colors are common. Many fragments bear figures made by a variety of techniques. The majority of the finds are dated to the 12th-13th centuries [Utkan 1996:68-121]. Glassware: Restricted number of glassware was found during the cleaning and excavations. Of these, two are intact perfume bottles while the others are all broken [Utkan 1996:181-183]. Coins: A bronze coin from the 9th century was found [Utkan 1996:191]. Handicrafts: The excavations yielded two terracotta figurines, several statutes made of bones, and fragments of stone-icons [Utkan 1996]. |
| Interpretation: |
| Destruction: A large portion of the palace was destructed due to coast highway, and railway construction and the housing. There are three marble lintels, on the south façade, an embrasure and two arched openings. One of the openings was filled to the half by laying bricks inside the other two were demolished. There is heavy destruction by vegetation on this side which also contains a balcony and it was covered by ivy plant. The north part overlooks the railway and the destruction due to the railway construction is also heavy. The concrete railroad walls were leaned up against the building remains. The inside and the environs of the cistern underneath the ramp stairway which leads to the quay, is filled with vegetation and garbage. Some concrete was pored onto the wall between the balcony and the cistern [TAYEx 08.09.2008]. |
