Klazomenai Ancient City (Urla, İzmir)
Klazomenai was one of the twelve Ionian cities, located on the north coast of the Urla–Çeşme Peninsula, roughly in the middle of the Gulf of Izmir. The city’s territory (khora) extended from the mainland settlement at Liman Tepe across the low hills of Ayyıldız and Cankurtaran to the offshore Karantina Island, where part of the Classical city later developed.
(Source: Turkish Museums – “Izmir Klazomenai Archaeological Site”; Izmir Directorate of Culture and Tourism (EN) – “Klazomenai (Urla)”; Visit Izmir – “Klazomenai Ancient City”) :contentReference[oaicite:6]{index=6}
Archaeological evidence from Liman Tepe shows continuous occupation of the area since around 4000 BC, while the Iron Age saw the emergence of Klazomenai as an Ionian polis and maritime trading centre. By the 7th–6th centuries BC, the city had become an important node in Aegean trade, particularly noted for its production and export of olive oil and wine, as well as its rich painted sarcophagi and pottery.
(Source: Turkish Museums – “Izmir Klazomenai Archaeological Site”; LikeÇeşme – “Klazomenai Ancient City”) :contentReference[oaicite:7]{index=7}
In the late 6th century BC, Klazomenai suffered from the Persian invasion of western Anatolia. As a consequence, many inhabitants relocated from the mainland to Karantina Island, turning it into a fortified island town during the early 5th century BC, in the era of the Ionian Revolt. A submerged Hellenistic causeway, about 400 m long, still links the island to the mainland today, and has been investigated by underwater archaeologists.
(Source: Culture and Tourism Directorate (TR+EN) – background on Persian invasion; UKTA – “Klazomenai Excavation Area”; KUDAΡ – “The Hellenistic-era Causeway at Klazomenai”) :contentReference[oaicite:8]{index=8}
Klazomenai is especially famous for the discovery of an olive oil workshop dating to the 6th century BC, regarded as the oldest known olive oil production facility in Anatolia, and often described as the earliest known continuous-system olive oil plant in the world. The rock-cut installation with multiple basins was excavated in 2004–2005 and reconstructed in situ, demonstrating a pressing technology remarkably similar to modern systems and proving that this technology was first developed here about 2,600 years ago.
(Source: Izmir Directorate of Culture and Tourism (EN) – “Klazomenai (Urla)”; Visit Izmir – “Urla Klazomenai Olive Oil Workshop”; Visit Izmir – “Klazomenai Ancient City”) :contentReference[oaicite:9]{index=9}
Excavations, officially launched in 1981 and currently directed by Prof. Yaşar Ersoy (Bilkent University), have revealed domestic quarters, necropoleis, fortification systems, pottery workshops and harbour installations. Recent seasons brought to light a 2,400-year-old clay seal engraved with the sun god Apollo, the first civic seal ever found at Klazomenai, confirming the city’s role as a major ceramic and administrative centre in the Late Classical period.
(Source: Izmir Directorate of Culture and Tourism – “Klazomenai Excavation Area / Urla”; ArkeoNews – “Klazomenai, ceramic center of ancient period was found – the first seal belonging to the city”; Turkish Archaeology News – “November 2022 in Turkish archaeology”) :contentReference[oaicite:10]{index=10}
Today, visitors to Klazomenai Archaeological Site can explore the reconstructed olive oil workshop, ruins of the mainland settlement and cemetery areas, and enjoy views towards Karantina Island and the broader Gulf of Izmir. Combined with ongoing underwater research at Liman Tepe and the causeway, the site offers a vivid picture of how an Ionian harbour city and its hinterland functioned from prehistory through the Classical and Hellenistic periods.
(Source: Turkish Museums – “Izmir Klazomenai Archaeological Site”; Visit Izmir – “Klazomenai Ancient City”; Airial Travel – “Klazomenai Ancient City”) :contentReference[oaicite:11]{index=11}