10. Arkeometri Sonuçları Toplantısı - Kültür ve Turizm Bakanlığı

Church of the Holy Apostles was largely concealed by the depth of shinglealong the beach at the time. By i 966 the distance to the sea had diminishedto areund 70 m, with the easteni end of the Church now protrudingclearly above the beach (Fig. 3). Measurements taken in Julyi 993 record a furtlıer shrinkage to 44 m, the apse and northeast corner ofthe Cluırch having now collapsed from the rest of the structure througherosion. Even greater reduction has occurred at points 2 and 3, where thebeach has diminished by a distance of 48 m and 58 m respectively in fortyyears. Beyond this to the north, however, the rate of erosion duringthis period is much less severe, diminishing from 34.5 m at point 4, to 9m and 5 m at points 5 and 6 respectively, and to zero at points 7 and 8.Interpreıationofthe EvideliceThe shape of the shore at Anemurium in antiquity was c1early verydifferent from its present appearance. The two most striking changes arethe formation of the sand-dunes which have largely buried ancient structuresnear the shore at the north end of the site and the development of anextensive shingle beach which foımed in place of the receding sanddunesand now separates the ancient waterfront from the sea.The date when the dunes began to form is unknown, but the probableabandonment of the city around the end of the seventh century offers alikely context for a process that had probably been held in check up tothat time (Russell, 1987, p.23). The subsequent widerıing of the dunes ina northeasterly direction reflects the effect of the prevailing winds of thesummer months which blow from the southwest. This must account forthe lack of dunes at the southern end of the site sheltered in the lee ofCape Anamur. Thus this pan of the beach has undergone least expansionin antiquity.It is c1ear that no beach remotely comparable to that of the presentexisted in front of ancient Anemurium. Indeed, there are clear indicationsthat the sea penetrated as far as the city's protective sea-wall in Romantimes and that there may have been a smail harbour at its southern end.The best evidence for this lies in the exit of the city's main drain directlyinto the sea immediately in front of the sea-wall, an arrangement firrnlydatable no later than the mid-third century. Some build-up of beach hadcertainly taken place by the time that the Church of the Holy Apostles (II16) was built on a site outside the sea-wall in the first half of the fifthcentury. The massiye substrııctures at its east end, however, suggest thatthe sea was stili close enough to pose a serious threat, That a beach servingas a buffer zone some 30 m wide had foımed by early Byzantine141