Homes were cleared and digging began for Istanbul's metro station main hub, the Marmaray.  This multi-million dollar railway project would connect two continents together through underground railways.  Excavation plans stopped when just a few meters below ground, Byzantium's ancient port was found.  Other settlements as well as burial grounds have also been found, dating back 8000 years.  It is now believed that Istanbul was first settled around 700 B.C., proving that Istanbul is actually 6000 years older than originally thought!

Archaeologists have found several cremation urns from the Neolithic Age as well as the skeletons of a family.  At the same location, remains of an early settlement with signs of houses made of tree-branches and small tools, wooden pieces and bones were found.

Construction on the terminal was scheduled to last about six months, but after these amazing discoveries, the expected opening of the Marmaray is 2011 at the earliest.  In order to get construction started on the tunnel again, there are 50 archaeologists and 750 workers excavating in shifts 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in an area the size of 10 city blocks. The crews have finally hit bedrock in some places, making it highly unlikely to find any more artifacts in those areas.  Many of the oldest artifacts along with the remains of Byzantine ships have been preserved in piles of ancient swamp mud.

The archaeolgical site has unearthed the stone remains of the harbor and a wooden pier, and the oldest settlement in ?stanbul. Leather sandals with strings through the toes, candle-holders, hairbrushes, anchors and lengths of rope have also been found.  Experts hope to gain insights into ancient commercial life in the city, once called Constantinople, which was the capital of the eastern Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires.  So far, 22 boats have been uncovered, which were thought to have all been wiped out at once by a giant storm or tsunami after a strong earthquake hit the harbor.  

There are plans to build a museum on the site, and have it incorporated into the huge underground rail station.