Dating and dendroprovenancing of the timbers used in Yenikap1 historical jetty (Istanbul, Turkey)

In 2016, the Directorate of Istanbul Archaeology Museums unearthed an extensive jetty within the eastern portion of the Byzantine harbor excavated at Yenikapt Istanbul. The purpose of the paper is to present the results obtained from the dating and dendroprovenancing of the wooden timbers from this historical jetty. A total of 145 oak and fir samples were collected for dating. The cutting dates of the oak timbers were determined to be from AD 1762-1763, which has also been confirmed by archaeological documents. The best statistical values (Gleichlaufigkeit value 76%, TVBP 10.0 and CDI 82) were obtained using the oak chronology for Vezneciler from the Asian side of the Bosporus, which represents construction phases dating to AD 1762-1763. The highest statistical matches for the oak tree-ring series from both Yenikapi and Vezneciler were obtained using reference chronologies from northern Greece and Kosovo. Three site chronologies from the forests of Bolu, Karabilk and Kastamonu were used to date the fir samples, and the cutting date was determined to be AD 1906. The best statistical results were obtained from the site chronology for Kastamonu (Gleichlaufigkeit value 72%, TVBP 10.3 and CDI 79). Due to the significant correlation with this site chronology, the origin of the fir samples may be from the forests of Kastamonu, which is the nearest fir forest along the Black Sea. Because roads and railways were not common during this period, the fir timbers may have been transported via the Black Sea to Yenikapi located near the Marmara Coast. We can conclude from this evidence that construction near the Byzantine harbor continued to utilize imported timbers into the Ottoman period.