Identification of woods dating back to the Neolithic Age released from the YENİKAPI (İSTANBUL) excavations

Many ruins dating back to the Neolithic Age have been unearthed at Yenikapı during the archaeological excavations carried out as part of the Marmaray Metro Project. Wood samples of these ruins were sectioned via freezing sliding microtome. These sections became permanent slides and they were compared with reference to slides, wood identification atlases and books in order to identify their taxa. Only 240 samples could be sectioned from among 430 wood samples. As a result of the identification, the following were determined: Quercus spp., Q. pontica , Juniperus spp., Ficus spp . , Juglans spp . , Fraxinus spp. , Alnus glutinosa , Abies spp., Salix sp., Acer spp . , Ulmus spp., Castanea sativa and Taxus baccata .