Burcu Ustabaş
Affiliated Researcher
Burcu Ustabaş is a researcher with a Master’s degree in Maritime Archaeology from Koç University. She has conducted excavation, archival, and museum work in Türkiye, Egypt, and Greece. Her expertise includes from classical period to medieval Byzantine maritime trade, amphora analysis, amphora stamps/graffiti, and digital archaeology techniques.
Research and Publications
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The Olive Tree:
Myth, Heritage, and a Living Symbol
Every year on 26 November, UNESCO marks World Olive Tree Day, a relatively new observance (proclaimed in 2019) that reflects a very old reality: the olive tree has been woven into human history for millennia. As food, fuel, medicine, and timber, Olea europaea has shaped Mediterranean economies and landscapes.
Maritime Cultural Engagement and Coastal Communities in Türkiye’s Eastern Black Sea
Maritime cultural engagement, broadly defined as the ways in which societies interact with, perceive, and utilize the sea, has become a prominent field of inquiry in heritage and coastal studies. While many Mediterranean and Atlantic communities demonstrate deeply rooted maritime traditions, the Turkish Black Sea coast presents a more ambiguous case.
Archaeotourism:
Navigating Heritage and Tourism in a Global Context
Archaeotourism is the intersection of archaeological heritage and tourism, and it has emerged as a major force in cultural economies worldwide. While it stimulates development, employment, and cross-cultural exchange, it also places unprecedented strain on fragile heritage sites and local communities.
The Amentü Ship:
From Creed to Calligram to Cinema
Step into the İstanbul Cinema Museum (Atlas Sineması) on İstiklal Caddesi and you’ll find a luminous section devoted to Tonguç Yaşar and Sezer Tansuğ’s short animation Amentü Gemisi Nasıl Yürüdü? (1969). The display includes materials tied to the film’s making, often described by the museum and press as original drawings/illustrations from the production, presented alongside broader Yeşilçam-era artifacts.
Echoes of the Deep:
Tracing the UAE's Pearl Diving Heritage Across Emirates
Step into the heart of Dubai Mall. If you pause for a moment among the designer shopfronts and neon cafés, you’ll notice something that feels slightly out of place in a world of glass and steel. Suspended under soft light is a sculpture that shimmers like a school of fish caught mid-dance.