2000 years old ancient columns
Many of us have seen the ancient giant columns in the village of Yahya Cavus, in Ezine district of Çanakkale, with the Netflix series “Ethos”, when Rukiye returned to her village and went to the ancient quarry area nearby.
The columns made of Kestanbol granite of Çanakkale region can be seen in Süleymaniye Mosque, Perge ancient city, Ephesus agora, St. Marco’s Basilica and many other Roman and Ottoman buildings. There were columns from this quarry in Hagia Sophia Museum as well, but they are not standing today. Even in the past centuries, it is well known that these columns were taken from the destroyed ancient structures and used again in other buildings as “devşirme” (re-used) material.
In this ancient granite quarry in Çanakkale, which have been used since the archaic period (approximately 10 thousand years ago) colossal ancient columns are laying for approximately 2000 years, once prepared to be transported.
The aforementioned ancient columns are over 1.5 meters in diameter and their length reaches 12 meters. Considering that the weight of each column is 55-60 tons, how was the column dislocated, processed and transported to the nearest port? Architectural and engineering solutions in ancient Rome are as provoking as the problem itself. If you want to get basic information about these topics, I recommend Fritz Kretzchmer’s book “Architecture and Engineering in Ancient Rome”.
The use of the quarry had probably ended with the abandonment of the city of Troy and the port of Troy after the destructive earthquakes that took place in the 6th century. The columns that lay in the area of this ancient quarry today were abandoned there ever since.
This quarry and its surrounding ruins, which are extremely important in terms of demonstrating the production methods of the period was registered and declared as a 1st degree archaeological site with the decision of the Regional Conservation Board in 2017. Therefore, until 2017, the quarry and its surroundings remained unprotected, neglected and officially open to vandalism. It is inevitable that more of the ancient columns and other ruins found in its place today may have been plundered. It seems like a last resort to hope that the field, which still does not receive the necessary importance and attention, will find value with its use as photographic value in TV series, movies and social media.
https://www.academia.edu/35557601/Troas_B%C3%B6lgesindeki_Antik_Granit_Ocaklar%C4%B1_Yeni_Bulgular
https://www.academia.edu/35557601/Troas_B%C3%B6lgesindeki_Antik_Granit_Ocaklar%C4%B1_Yeni_Bulgular
