'At one time we used to smash the amphoras which caught in our nets and throw the pieces back into the sea so that they would not catch and tear them again. But times have changed, and our attitudes with them of course. We never guessed the time would come when we would go to sea in pursuit of amphoras instead of fish.' So an elderly fisherman, Ibrahim Serbest, told me when I visited Taþucu. They say that a fisherm'ss tales are never exhausted, and how true that is. They follow one another without a pause, anecdotes not only about the sea, wind and fish, but also amphoras. Listening to stories about these ancient jars lying on the seabed in the warm but deep waters of the Mediterranean made me look with new eyes at the glistening sea stretching to the horizon.

The amphora museum in Taþucu on Turkey's Mediterranean coast owes its existence to the endeavours of fisherman like Ibrahim Serbest. Over 300 amphoras can be seen today in the museum, which is housed in a tall stone building, a former warehouse built in the 19th century, facing Tasucu Harbour. The amphoras are like time capsules, revealing all kinds of information about the food, transportation and trade of the past.

The ancient Greek word amphora is a compound of amphi meaning two-sided and phorus meaning portable, that is, 'something that can be grasped by both sides and carried'. Amphoras are pottery jars tapering towards the base, and with two handles on either side of the neck. They were fashioned from clay containing various other materials such as mica and sand, and fired at a temperature of 800-1000 degrees Centigrade

The extent of this trade is reflected in the diversity of the amphoras found in the offshore waters, where they have lain since the ships carrying them sunk in storms or gales thousands of years ago.

When local fishermen discover amphoras, they now bring them to the museum founded by the Tasucu Educational and Environmental Conservation Foundation. Here they can be enjoyed by visitors, and are prevented from falling into the hands of antiquities smugglers. The oldest of the amphoras in the museum dates from the 6th century BC, and the newest from around the 12th century AD. The majority belong to the Roman and Byzantine periods, and almost all come from wrecks in the coastal waters between the city of Mersin to the east and Antalya to the west. The museum curators say that hardly a day passes without a fisherman passing by to tell them that an amphora caught in his net was too heavy for him to lift onto his boat, or to inform them of the location of a wreck filled with amphoras.

According to Ibrahim Serbest there are still huge numbers of amphoras in the sea around Taþucu, but recovering them is not always easy. Amphoras are sought after for decoration and by collectors, but by bringing them to the museum Taþucu's fishermen ensure that their finds make a contribution to our knowledge of not only local history, but that of the entire region.

* Abdullah Kiliç is a journalist