Yarimburgaz Cave ( tr, Yarımburgaz Mağarası) is a

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

of significant archaeological and paleontological importance, located within Istanbul Province, Turkey.

Location

Yarımburgaz Cave is approximately west of the city of

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, and about north of

Lake Küçükçekmece Lake Küçükçekmece ( tr, Küçükçekmece Gölü) is a lagoon located between the Küçükçekmece, Esenyurt and Avcılar districts of the European portion of Istanbul Province, northwestern Turkey. The lake is neighbored in the south by stat ...

and south of

Sazlıdere Dam Sazlıdere Dam is a reservoir dam in the Başakşehir district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. The dam supplies the European side of the city and its suburbs with drinking water. The Turkish State Hydraulic Works backed the development of the dam ...

. It is situated in a locality known today as Altınşehir, within the neighborhood of Güvercintepe in Başakşehir district.

Geology and formation

The cave was formed as a result of a subterranean river eroding an ancient limestone formation. It has two entrances, one above the other. The lower entrance is at an altitude of

AMSL Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

, which the upper entrance is situated above. The cave is on the eastern bank of the Sazlıdere creek, which empties into Lake Küçükçekmece. The entrances face southwards overlooking Sazlıdere Valley. Whereas the lower cave has a length of , the upper is only long. After about inside, a short, sloping passage connects both caves. The lower cave is in the form of a meandering tunnel, forking into two at a distance of from the mouth. The upper cave's chamber is wide and in height.

Scientific research

The cave is an important

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

site which has been researched by

archeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts ...

paleontologist Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

s, geoarchaeologists and biospeleologists. Scientific exploration of the cave began in the mid-19th century.

Excavation Excavation may refer to: * Excavation (archaeology) * Excavation (medicine) * ''Excavation'' (The Haxan Cloak album), 2013 * ''Excavation'' (Ben Monder album), 2000 * ''Excavation'' (novel), a 2000 novel by James Rollins * '' Excavation: A Memo ...

attempts made in 1920 were followed by systematic archaeological work in the 1980s financially supported by the

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...

. In the

Byzantine era The Byzantine calendar, also called the Roman calendar, the Creation Era of Constantinople or the Era of the World ( grc, Ἔτη Γενέσεως Κόσμου κατὰ Ῥωμαίους, also or , abbreviated as ε.Κ.; literal translation of ...

, a cave-church was carved into the walls of the upper cave, and a monastery was built outside the cave mouth. Although these alterations may have resulted in the loss of prehistoric material, some artefacts remain in the cave. In the upper cave, traces of settlements were found dating back to the Upper Paleolithic subdivision of the

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

up until the

Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

period of the

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

. These traces were lying on beach sand from the last interglacial period and beneath debris from

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

and later times. The beach sand covers

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand an ...

s with

Lower Paleolithic The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears in ...

artifacts. The upper cave was destroyed by treasure hunting and illicit diggings, which left -deep pits. Unlike the prehistoric deposits found in the lower cave, the upper cave lacks any evidence of debris from that era. The existence of paleontological and archaeological findings point towards the use of the cave as a

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...

and an

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

habitat, alternatively. The finds include bones of

herbivore A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpart ...

and carnivore

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

s, marine and freshwater

mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized. The number of fossil species is esti ...

microfauna Microfauna (Ancient Greek ''mikros'' "small" + New Latin ''fauna'' "animal") refers to microscopic animals and organisms that exhibit animal-like qualities. Microfauna are represented in the animal kingdom (e.g., nematodes, small arthropods) and t ...

as well as artifacts like

potsherd In archaeology, a sherd, or more precisely, potsherd, is commonly a historic or prehistoric fragment of pottery, although the term is occasionally used to refer to fragments of stone and glass vessels, as well. Occasionally, a piece of broken p ...

s, knives on

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

, oldowans, choppers and

hammerstone In archaeology, a hammerstone is a hard cobble used to strike off lithic flakes from a lump of tool stone during the process of lithic reduction. The hammerstone is a rather universal stone tool which appeared early in most regions of the wo ...

s on

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...

, as well as

manuport A manuport is a natural object that has been deliberately taken from its original environment and relocated without further modification. Typically moved by human hand, some manuports are the result of other hominins. Common manuports include stones ...

s. The wide variety of prehistoric faunal specimens belong to bones of herbivore mammals such as cave bears ('' Ursus deningeri''), horses ('' Equus caballus''), wild boars (''

Sus scrofa The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is no ...

''), fallow deer ('' Dama dama''), roe deer (''

Capreolus capreolus The roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), also known as the roe, western roe deer, or European roe, is a species of deer. The male of the species is sometimes referred to as a roebuck. The roe is a small deer, reddish and grey-brown, and well-adapt ...

''), deer (''

Megaloceros ''Megaloceros'' (from Greek: + , literally "Great Horn"; see also Lister (1987)) is an extinct genus of deer whose members lived throughout Eurasia from the early Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene and were important herbivores durin ...

''), cattle ('' Bos''/''

Bison Bison are large bovines in the genus ''Bison'' (Greek: "wild ox" (bison)) within the tribe Bovini. Two extant and numerous extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American bison, ''B. bison'', found only in North Ame ...

''), antilopes ('' Gazella''), goats (''

Capra Capra may refer to: * ''Capra'' (genus), comprising the goats * Capra (goat dance), a Romanian custom * Capra (titular see), a titular see in the Catholic Church * Capra (car), a pick-up brand from the Iranian Bahman Group People * Buzz Capra (bo ...

''), and carnivores such as wolves and dogs ('' Canis''), foxes (''

Vulpes '' Vulpes '' is a genus of the sub-family Caninae. The members of this genus are colloquially referred to as true foxes, meaning they form a proper clade. The word "fox" occurs in the common names of all species of the genus, but also appears ...

''), tigers (''

Panthera ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family (biology), family Felidae that was named and described by Lorenz Oken in 1816 who placed all the spotted cats in this group. Reginald Innes Pocock revised the classification of this genus in 1916 as co ...

''), cats ('' Felis'') and hyenas (''

Crocuta ''Crocuta'' is a genus of hyena containing the largest living member of the family, the spotted hyena ''(Crocuta crocuta)''. Several fossil species are known as well. Taxonomy It is still unclear whether the genus evolved in Africa or Asia, altho ...

''). Findings of "more than 5000 fossil bones and teeth of cave and brown bears", which provide some chronological indicators, led to their extensive scientific study. Another subject of such extensive study were the fossils of several species of Middle Pleistocene bats ( Chiroptera), including horseshoe bats ('' Rhinolophus''), mouse-eared bats (''

Myotis The mouse-eared bats or myotises are a diverse and widespread genus (''Myotis'') of bats within the family Vespertilionidae. The noun "''myotis''" itself is a New Latin construction, from the Greek "''muós'' (meaning "mouse") and "''oûs''" (mea ...

''), long-eared bats (''

Plecotus ''Plecotus'' is a genus of vesper bat, commonly called long-eared bats. They are found throughout Eurasia and northern Africa. Many species in the genus have only been described and recognized in recent years. Species Genus ''Plecotus'' – lon ...

'') and bent-winged bats (''

Miniopterus ''Miniopterus'', known as the bent-winged or long winged bats, is the sole genus of the family Miniopteridae. They are small flying insectivorous mammals, micro-bats of the order Chiroptera, with wings over twice the length of the body. The genus ...

''). Some artifacts found in Yarımburgaz Cave are exhibited in the

Istanbul Archaeology Museums The Istanbul Archaeology Museums ( tr, ) are a group of three archaeological museums located in the Eminönü quarter of Istanbul, Turkey, near Gülhane Park and Topkapı Palace. The Istanbul Archaeology Museums consists of three museums: #Arch ...

. In 2001, Yarımburgaz Cave was declared an archaeological-nature reserve of first grade. It is also listed as "Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection".

Human impact

During the last two decades, the cave suffered serious, irreversible damage caused by the external interactions of humans. Following scientific excavations inside the cave, and the related publications in the 1990s, the cave gained wide popularity. For this reason, it was brought to the attention of several picnickers, treasure hunters, illegal explorers, amateur speleologists and archaeologists due to its past use as a historic cave-church and its proximity to the city center. In order to prevent further damage, the cave was closed off with iron bar gates during the scientific excavations between 1988 and 1990. However, because of neglect by the respective authorities, the gates lost their function in later years, and the cave would inevitably become a shelter frequented by drug users and prostitutes, who littered it. Currently, the cave walls are painted and scratched with

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

. To establish a mushroom farm inside the cave, the cave grounds were leveled by a grader. The mouth of the cave was enlarged even to enable the grader's entry. The cave was also used several times as a setting in filmmaking and television productions that left permanent modifications inside the cave. The cave featured in the 1971 movie ''Ali Baba ve Kırk Haramiler'' (English: "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves"), based on the folk tale Ali Baba, with a role as the treasure cave that opens with the magic words "

open sesame "Open sesame" (french: Sésame, ouvre-toi; ar, افتح يا سمسم) is a magical phrase in the story of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" in Antoine Galland's version of '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It opens the mouth of a cave in whi ...

" and closes off with "close sesame", respectively. For the filming of an episode of the television series ''Küçük Ağa'' (English: "Little Agha"), historic

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

s on the cave walls were scratched off and removed, and some of them were painted over with

exit signs An exit sign is a pictogram or short text in a public facility (such as a building, aircraft, or boat) denoting the location of the closest emergency exit to be used in case of fire or other emergency that requires rapid evacuation. Most rele ...

. During the filming of the

science-fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel univers ...

movie ''Yorr’un Öyküsü'' (English: "The Story of Yorr"), a large pool was built inside the cave, which was then detonated by explosives according to the scenario. The cave also became a setting for the television comedy series ''

Leyla ile Mecnun ''Leyla ile Mecnun'' (''Leyla and Mecnun'') is a Turkish television comedy series. The series, set in Istanbul and directed by Onur Ünlü, premiered in 2011 on Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, TRT. It is a surreal, Absurdism, absurdist ...

'' produced by the state-owned

Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish : ) is the national public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio provider in Turkey. Before the introduction of commercial radio i ...

(TRT), in which fire was set to depict hell. The filming of some episodes of the television series '' Muhteşem Yüzyıl'' (English: "The Magnificent Century"), a prime-time historical

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

, inside the cave without proper permission allegedly caused damage to the cave. As such, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism filed a complaint against the producers. A group of local politicians inspected the cave in February 2015, and reported that the cave's protection is still neglected despite its importance and status.

References

External links