Ancient Istanbul is 6,000 years older than thought

Archaeologists find that Ancient Istanbul (Constantinople) Is 6,000 years Older than they previously thought

Digging through thick mud and an ancient swamp of black clay, archaeologists in Istanbul have discovered a grave that proves the city is 6,000 years older than they previously thought. The skeletons of two adults and two children lie curled-up, perhaps to save space. Alongside them are pots: gifts placed in the grave to use in the afterlife. The ancient family was unearthed at the site of a 21st Century rail project. "We found the grave, pots and other artefacts. There were signs of houses made of tree-branches and next to the settlement was a swamp where we found small tools, wooden pieces and bones," explains Ismail Karamut, head of the Istanbul Archaeology museum, which is leading the dig. Neolithic graves were unearthed at the site "It all shows there was a Neolithic settlement here in the historic peninsula of Istanbul where people lived, farmed and fished," he adds

Ancient Istanbul 6,000 years older than previous estimate


[edit on 13/1/09 by coredrill]

stop working train builders let us through to preserve the past sweet find that will show historians how old our race really is

I love how we know it all and then keep finding over and over again we are wrong but we never admit we were wrong we just say we miscalculated .

We are probably so much older than we'd like to imagine. Everything else on earth is cyclical why shouldn't the rise and fall of man be ?

Originally posted by LucidDreamer85
I love how we know it all and then keep finding over and over again we are wrong but we never admit we were wrong we just say we miscalculated .

We are probably so much older than we'd like to imagine. Everything else on earth is cyclical why shouldn't the rise and fall of man be ?

Historians had believed modern-day Istanbul was first settled around 700 BC.

Belied is not "we know it all", any good scientist knows that. One can probably find neolithic remains under most southern European cities and in Asia and Africa too. Those folks tended to find the same good sites that later people did.

So, about 6,000 BC. That puts it in contention with the others on the list of "oldest continuously inhabited cities" mentioned in Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by Byrd


Howdy Byrd

But was it continuous? I got the impression it was just part of the site. I don't recall the Roman's placing a city on top of an existing one? However its a popular place and people have probably been in the area for tens of thousands of years.

Ancient Rome was founded above a series of settlements on or beside the island in the Tiber. It was a major trading post before 700 BC and I'm certain it has been continuously inhabited since about 1,000 BC.

I'm feeling too sleepy right now to go google for a more accurate date and information, so this is "to the best of my knowledge, subject to better research."

reply to post by Byrd


True but I think we were talking about Istanbul!

reply to post by Byrd


confusion raises it's sleepy head, no worries Byrd I fell asleep driving once.