During excavation work in Istanbul, a 10 million-year-old marine mollusk fossil was found.

During the excavation of a building in Bağcılar, a marine tower fossil approximately 10 million years old from the Miocene period was discovered. The historical artifact found by the construction team was extracted from a pile of sand that had been concreted at the bottom. Geologist Prof. Dr. Şener Üşümezsoy stated that the finding provides clues about the expected major Marmara earthquake, saying, "The weakest area of Istanbul against earthquakes is formed by the 10 million-year-old marine fossil layers from the Miocene period. This accumulation, extending from Avcılar, Küçükçekmece, Bakırköy, Bağcılar, Esenler, and up to Topkapı in Istanbul, indicates the weakest region against earthquakes."

10 MILLION-YEAR-OLD FOSSIL FOUND DURING EXCAVATION

Uğur Akbaş and his father İrfan Akbaş, who were working on the construction of a shopping mall near Basın Ekspres Road in Bağcılar, discovered a marine tower fossil from a 20-meter excavation within a pile of sand. Prof. Dr. Şener Üşümezsoy, who provided information about the fossil that has been kept at the family's home for 15 years as a memento, stated that it is 10 million years old. Prof. Dr. Üşümezsoy also mentioned that the finding provides information about ground durability against a possible major Marmara earthquake. According to Prof. Dr. Üşümezsoy, the fossil known as Bakırköy limestone, which comes from Yeşilköy towards Bağcılar, is found in areas of Istanbul that are particularly at risk of earthquakes.

"WE PUT IT IN OUR DISPLAY BECAUSE IT WAS SAID TO HAVE NO HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE"

Uğur Akbaş, who stated that he found the marine tower fossil with his father 15 years ago during an excavation, said, "There was an excavation area about 50 meters above Basın Ekspres Road. Clay and sand were coming out in places. This fossil was inside the sand pile. The bottom was concreted, and we could only break and extract the top part of the snail. We extracted it from an excavation of about 20 meters. In addition, different fossils also came out, but this was the only piece we could extract while preserving its integrity. At the time we extracted the fossil, I wasn't very active on social media. When I took it out of the excavation, I thought it was a visually beautiful piece. We put it in our display because it was said to have no historical significance," he expressed.

"WE JUST LEARNED IT IS A FOSSIL FROM MILLIONS OF YEARS AGO"

Akbaş explained that while browsing social media, he came across a fossil sharing page, saying, "When I examined the page, I saw that there were similar ones to the fossil I had. I shared it as an example for people, and it received a lot of interest. Apparently, there haven't been many examples seen in Turkey before. We didn't know it was a fossil from millions of years ago; we just learned that."

Akbaş concluded his remarks by saying, "During the interactions on social media, I understood from the comments made by experts that it was an ancient fossil. When I learned that it was a fossil of tens of millions of years old, I was excited. I didn't expect it to be this old or to attract this much interest. It feels great to have such a historical artifact."

ÜŞÜMEZSOY: A 10 MILLION-YEAR-OLD FOSSIL

Geologist Prof. Dr. Şener Üşümezsoy stated that the fossil is also known as the devil's tower, saying, "It can be described as a 10 million-year-old fossil from the Serravallian period of the Miocene epoch. It was a living organism that lived in the limestone that marks the coastline of Istanbul 10 million years ago. It shows the paleogeography of the place where it was formed. Additionally, it is a fossil that lived in shallow waters, known as Bakırköy limestone, which comes from Yeşilköy towards Bağcılar," he said.

"SHOWING THE WEAKEST AREA AGAINST EARTHQUAKES"

Prof. Dr. Üşümezsoy stated that the marine fossil layers form the weakest area of Istanbul against earthquakes, saying, "It is located in a large part of Istanbul, especially in areas where we see earthquake risk. There is a clay known as Güngören clays, which is a bit deeper. When we evaluate this in terms of size, the only fault that poses a risk of an earthquake of 6 – 6.5 magnitude in Istanbul is Kumburgaz. The weakest area of Istanbul against earthquakes is formed by the 10 million-year-old marine fossil layers from the Miocene period. This accumulation, extending from Avcılar, Küçükçekmece, Bakırköy, Bağcılar, Esenler, and up to Topkapı in Istanbul, indicates the weakest region against earthquakes," he stated.

"LIMESTONES CREATE STRONGER SOILS COMPARED TO CLAYS"

Prof. Dr. Üşümezsoy mentioned that dead mussels and marine towers eventually form limestone, saying, "The earthquake-risky part of Istanbul is the old coastline where these fossils were formed. All the faults on the northern edge of the Sea of Marmara are related to the sedimentation of these sediments. The Sea of Marmara consists of constantly sinking layers and lakes. This creates a structure on its edge. Many living mussels and marine towers die, settle over time, and form limestone. It is a fossil that is within that limestone. The limestones in Merter transition to clay stones when moving to Bağcılar. At the same time, since Bağcılar covers a very large area, there are Güngören clays at the bottom and limestones above them. These limestones create stronger soils compared to clays," he explained.

"IT BECOMES RISKY BECAUSE IT CAN CREATE LANDSLIDES DURING AN EARTHQUAKE"

Prof. Dr. Üşümezsoy stated that the region used to be a coastline, concluding his remarks by saying, "There is also a thick Miocene accumulation known as Gürpınar clays. The ground instability in the Thrace part of Istanbul also stems from this point. These areas are risky because they can create landslides during an earthquake."