|
|
Article: The Great Palace of Byzantium.(Istanbul excavation unearths palatial remains)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- History Today
- Article date:
- January 1, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 History Today Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Archaeologists in Turkey believe they could have unearthed some of the remains of the Great Palace of the Byzantine Empire which ruled much of the known world for nearly a thousand years from the heart of Constantinople.
The dig in the Sultan Ahmet area of Istanbul has so far unearthed labyrinthine passageways and chambers with exquisite vaulted ceilings patterned with swirling red files which have been lying underground choked with earth and debris for centuries. One of the chamber walls is covered with a fresco of fruit clusters and geometric patterns. The red and blue colours are still vivid. Alpay Pasinli, the director of Istanbul's Museum of Archaeology, ...