Haydarapasa railway station and the archaeological excavation in its backyard- All the details here

 It started as an accidental find of several ancient relics in the year 2018 during the restoration work on the Haydarapasa railway station in Turkey that was in progress. And now it has become a major archaeological excavation project of Turkey. 

About the Haydarapasa railway station

This area was called Haydarapasa Meadows before the railway construction began in 1872 in Istanbul. But the construction of Haydarapasa platform per se began late in 1906 and was completed in 1909. The station is located on 1100 wooden piles on a reclaimed land. It had 6 bay platforms and 9 tracks. It was an important landmark and part of the Ottoman Empire's ambitious Hejaz and Baghdad railways. It was situated just South of the Port of Haydarapasa and slightly to north of central Kadikoy (village of judge that previously was called Chalcedon or City of the Blind. It was electrified in 1969. 

But when the Marmaray project commenced, local train services to Haydarapasa was halted on 19 June 2013. One year later, even intercity trains from here to Anatolia were stopped. People were unhappy and sit-in protests were carried out against the closure by The Turkish Solidarity Group. The station continues to house the HQ of District 1 of State Railways. It was rumored that the government has no plans to reopen the station and instead would convert it into a luxury hotel or resort. In December 2015, it was stated that the station that was on the Asian side of Bosphorus would be integrated into the Marmaray project and high speed train network. It reappeared on the official railway maps of Istanbul. Hence restoration work commenced on it. 

The accidental find

And in 2018, during the ongoing restoration work, the contractors stumbled upon the remains of a Byzantine coastal town. A Byzantine-era fountain built in 1790 and repaired in 1836, a big fortification wall, and a ceramic brick kiln were unearthed. A number of graves were also discovered and also an intact skeleton. The latter had a scented necklace around the neck region. Coins and jewellery were also found. The 12000 gold, silver, and bronze coins date back to 610-641 and 527-565 A.D. A podium made of rectangular blocks was part of the find and is believed to belong to the Hellenistic era. Recently, a mausoleum and a bunker used during World War II were also uncovered. It is 2.40 m high and 2 m wide and has electrical panels as well as toilets. 

The area under excavation is around 30-hectare (74-acre) and houses platforms, maintenance wards, storage areas, parking lines and maneuver areas. The backyard of the station is undergoing digging and the area to be excavated is 140000 sq. meters. 49%work is over. 15 archaeologists and 250 staff are busy in finishing the work that currently has no time limit. It will all depends on what is unearthed. Istanbul Archaeology Museum is also part of the team. The compound of the station is around 4.75 hectares and only only 75,000 square meters is earmarked for railroad-related activities. Rest is for excavatory work, industrial heritage museum and an archaeological park. 

Archaeology say

Istanbul Archaeology Museum Director Rahmi Asal said:

"The current area where we are working is inside the western harbor of Chalcedon. Indeed, very important ruins and artifacts were recovered. One of them is a private residence with opus sectile flooring dating back to the A.D. fifth century, along with a bathhouse," 

He added:

"We also came across a section of Sainte Bassa Church, an important ruin from the Byzantine era that is narrated both in antique sources as well as modern publications. Inside the church's apse, a mass grave was found containing approximately 28 bodies," 

Additionally, ruins of a holy spring (hagiasma in Greek, ayazma in Turkish) situated inside a palace ruin, and stone brick building of 5th or 6th century A.D. were also the finds. It is believed that the latter  was used as a melting workshop since it had  furnaces and pots in it. 

Rahmi said:

"If we were to talk about the history of Kadıköy in particular, our information on its archaeology and art history was unfortunately scarce apart from information in antique sources. We can say that these excavations are rewriting, reshaping the history of Kadıköy with concrete archaeological documents."

Setbacks of Haydarapasa station

Haydarapasa station had several setbacks in its time. 

1. On the inauguration day of the station in 1908, it was engulfed in fire. Hence, the opening was postponed to 4 November 1909 after restoration. 

2. The station had depot for armory and ammunition during World War I. On 6 September 1917, an armory exploded and caused collapsing damage. It was rebuilt in 1933. It had another restoration work on it in 1976. 

3. In 1979, a Romanian crude oil carrier collided with a Greek freighter on the Bosporus off Haydarpaşa Port and exploded. This Independenta tanker accident caused damage to the station as well. 

4. During the 2010 repair work, a fire broke out in the station. A temporary roof was put over it to protect the station from rain and snow. 

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