Serçe Limanı Glass Shipwreck Hall

This hall inside Bodrum Castle is dedicated to a single ship. In about AD 1026, a Byzantine vessel dragged its anchor and sank in a sheltered bay at Serçe Limanı, near Marmaris, at a depth of some 32 to 33 metres. A Bodrum sponge diver, Mehmet Aşkın, showed the wreck to archaeologists, and between 1977 and 1979 a Turkish-American team led by George Bass excavated it.

The ship was about 16 metres long and 5 metres wide, and could carry around 35 tonnes. It is one of the oldest examples of the shift from ancient shell-first building to the frame-first system that Bodrum shipyards still use in their own style. Its keel was of elm, ribs and planking of pine, and it probably had two masts with triangular sails.

The main cargo was glass: at least 200 different shapes of vessel, plus nearly two tonnes of broken glass gathered for recycling. Amphorae with Greek letters were also found, with lentils and grape seeds inside. The hull and cargo are shown in a purpose-built hall kept at constant humidity and temperature, with photographs, panels and a video about the excavation.