The Ancient Harbour of Elaia

In the Hellenistic period Elaia had been distinguished as the nearest and the most convenient port of Pergamon. She gained a fame after she had been used as an outer port and a naval base harboring the royal fleet. The harbor the function of which has been confirmed by the ancient writers is classified as an enclosed harbors (Kleistos). Furthermore, the harbor is considered to be a private and a secret sort of harbor just because it belonged to the kings of Pergamon. Elaia has been studied in terms of its history, naval commerce and interesting mythology* systematically. At the begining of the present century the ground plan of the harbor redrawn and structures found there were evoluated. As the harbor had an enclosed plan, it has been decided that there should have been a connection between the fortifications and the moles. The sections under the silting are supposed to have been shipsheds because of the fact that there should exist shipsheds in military harbor. It's belived that there used to be a former mole beneath the present one. The harbor was filled by silt and later it became useless.