New efforts to research Didyma’s true natural port, a 5,000-year-old ruin around the locally known Rabbit Island – and a possible enduring link to the Apollo Temple – are underway after a chance trip may have discovered them.
What has caused the need to re-visit, and possibly re-think the importance of the Port of Panormos, was the fact that massive stones below the sea are possibly human-made blcos as against natural geological layers.
It is believed these blocks are the ruins of the harbour structure of the Port of Panormos which may have fell into the sea due to an earthquake.
The link with Apollo – or its relevant name at the time in history you consider – remains tentative – but evidence suggests the elite of Miletus – either from the Hellenistic or Minoan periods – sailed from the city to present day Mavişehir to pay homage to Apollo (Appalunus) on the site of the present-day Temple.
The Evidence
Mustafa Şentürk, the President of the Didim Cultural Heritage Conservation Association and President of the Didim Tourism Association, stated he came across the ruins as a result of swimming around Rabbit Island after a boat trip with his wife.
Şentürk said, “I came here for 10 days and entered the sea here. I saw worked stones here. After the research, I informed Miletus Museum.
“According to my estimation, we would refer to this region as the Port of Panormos afterwards, but this port has a different dimension. This is the real Panormos Port of Didim. Panormos means ‘safe harbor’.” He said the submerged stones are 3-4 meters long, 50 cm wide.
The suspected harbour ruins surrounding Rabbit Island are located off Didim Forest Camp and about 1 km from shore
Follow Up Boat Trip
Acting on this information, Şentürk, Didim District Governor Halil Avşar, Aydin Provincial Director of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Tuncer, and Miletus Museum Director Baran Aydın and press members attended on a follow up research trip.
During the trip, Mr Tuncer inspected the underwater port on site, and stated that they will start a study on the remains.
While investigating around the island, the ruins of the harbor surrounding the island were spotted by the District Governor Avşar and the Provincial Director Tuncer. Şentürk then went into the sea and gave information about the size of the harbor ruins around the island.
A new ruin?
Speaking about the ruins, Mr Tuncer stated that they are facing a new ruin. Tuncer said: “In the exploratory work, we are confronted with a picture that we obviously think we need to reconsider the history of Hellenism orientation.”
“The ruins could date back 5,000 years. These ruins told us that there was a harbor here, partially underwater and above water. A harbour or a building belonging to the Minoan civilization.
“Therefore, it explains to us the strong influence of the Minoan culture on Didim in the region’s history.”
He added: “In this sense, considering the studies and the information given to us by the literature, we decided that we had to restart the studies and start working again in this region with a resonance effect that would revive underwater cultural tourism in the region.
“Even the superficial examinations we have made in our examination with the district governor excited us. In a very short time, we are launching underwater and above-water survey studies.”
Mr Tuncer, referring to the characteristics of the ruins in the region, said, “We determined the harbor remains to be up to 7-8 km off Rabbit Island. An area of 2.5 meters to 5 meters is scattered around the ruins, this is a harbor structure that was submerged after an earthquake collapse and possibly an earthquake that occurred before Hellenism.
“Therefore, I am saying on this region, we have slightly ignored the Minoan civilization. Therefore, we need to reconsider the Hellenistic orientation culture in the region.”
A Harder Look: Museum’s View
Back on dry land, the Milet Museum Manager Baran Aydın made evaluations about the historical harbor ruins around Rabbit Island in Didim.
Aydin said, “In some publications, it is mentioned there are various wrecks under the sea 250 meters from the island and some pier remains. But we have not seen their plans until this time.”
Aydın said, “As a result of the excavations and researches carried out by our museum in our region, many sites are already known.
“Rabbit Island is one of the historical areas that were first started to be researched in the 1980s and brought up scientifically. In particular, German excavations have been going on here for many years.”
An archaeological investigation began at Rabbit Island for the first time in 2006 and continued until 2012.
A related excavation was carried out on an area of 650 meters on the island. Its findings are being examined, restoration is being done. Apart from that, when the subject we have been looking at came to the fore in this way, we, as a museum, scanned the written sources we have, inventory information and other previously published magazines, magazines and annuals. We examined them. “
However, although excavations were carried out here, excavations were not carried out on the whole of the island. It is mentioned that there are some finds under the sea, concentrated in only two sections.
He said: “In our research, we realized that no underwater drawing study or investigation was done. We are currently evaluating the issue from this aspect.”
They are planning to conduct an underwater research to determine whether the underwater remains are naturally formed geological layers or human-made blocks.
He added: “If there are any finds or remains, we think underwater mapping will give us very interesting clues in terms of researching the island and the history of the region. Because it is only 6 km away from the Temple of Apollo, really shows us that this place was an important port settlement at that time.”
Şentürk said: “We need to bring this harbor to Didim and tourism. A new process has started in Didim. We need to bring this place to the district as a new destination by working with the Milet Museum and the Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism.”