In ancient times, most funerals in the region were held by simple burial by cremation. After cremation the ashes were usually put in ceramic urns or small stone containers, known as "larnax".

Other forms of cremation in Anatolian Archaeology were seen in the early Bronze Age, but this type of burial was uncommon.

The Marmaray project was scheduled to open in 2010.

However, the opening was delayed when excavation teams came across a Byzantine harbor in 2006.

The long lost harbor has been known about but had never been located.

The archaeologists call it the "Port of Theodosius," after the emperor of Rome and Byzantium who died in 395 A.D.

There have been 32 Byzantine ship wrecks found in the area of the Port of Theodosius.

The archaeological discoveries can now be seen in a private gallery of the Istanbul Museum of Archaeology.

Digging for the Marmaray tunnel has also led to archaeological finds in the Uskudar district on the Asian side of Istanbul and Sirkeci and Veznedar on the European side.

Giant machines constructing the tunnel are dredging up artifacts from the sea floor in the Bosphorus.

(CCTV February 1, 2009)