The Emperor's Lost Harbour

Directed by

Hannes Schuler

Written by

Sally Blake, Hannes Schuler

Produced by

ARTE France - PTV - Films à Trois - CBC

Documentary, France, 2011, 52 min

In the heart of modern Istanbul, while digging a tunnel through the city’s historic quarter, engineers make a remarkable discovery - the remains of 37 shipwrecks dating from between the 5th and 10th centuries, all almost incredibly intact. They had stumbled across Constantinople’s ancient harbour, built by the Emperor Theodosius 1st in 390AD and lost from view for centuries. The film follows archaeologists in the midst of their rescue excavation and, using the unique CGI of Turkish 3D artist Tayfun Oner, reconstructs the lost city and the ancient harbour for the first time.

Debate with :

• Dominique Pieri, lecturer in archaelogy Byzantine at the University Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne
• Hannes Schuler, director
• Emmanuel Laurent, Producer, Films à Cinq, member of the Association Science et Télévision
• Martin de la Fouchardière, Producer, Films à Cinq, member of the Association Science et Télévision