The Sunken Basilica

Uncover the sunken remains of a 4th-century basilica in Turkey. Submerged beneath the waters of Lake Iznik for hundreds of years, the church could reveal crucial insights into the early days of Christianity. Join a team of international researchers as they travel back through time—and grapple with Turkey’s many earthquakes, which could sink the structure deeper at any moment.

Film Interviewees

• Mehmet Yigit – Journalist
• Aykut Güngör – Journalist
• Mustafa Şahin – Archaeologist, Bursa Uludağ University
• Julia de Sigoyer – Geologist, Grenoble Alpes University/ISTerre
• Christophe Goddard – Director, CNRS-PSL Research Centre in Archaeology and Classical Studies
• Yacine Benjelloun – Geologist, IPG Paris
• Mark Fairchild – Professor of Bible & Religion, Huntington University
• Pierre Sabatier – Sedimentologist, EDYTEM/University of Savoie Mont Blanc
• Kağan Mehmet – Mayor of Iznik, Turkey
• Flavio Anselmetti – Geologist, Bern University
• Yann Klinger – Seismologist, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris
• Raphaël Paris – Geologist, CNRS

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Secrets of the Dead: The Sunken Basilica is a Les Batelières and Scope Pictures production, in coproduction with ORF, in association with The WNET Group, France Télévisions, CNRS Images, Viasat World Limited, FTV Prima, Focus/Mediaset. Written and directed by Pascal Guérin. Narrated by Jay O. Sanders. For Les Batelières: Julie Guesnon Amarante and Justine Henochsberg are executive producers. For Scope Pictures: Geneviève Lemal is producer. For Secrets of the Dead: Benjamin Phelps is supervising producer; Stephanie Carter is executive producer; Stephen Segaller is executive in charge.

Original production funding for The Sunken Basilica was provided by the Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC), Procirep-ANGOA, and the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme of the European Union, with production support provided by ZED.

Funding for Secrets of the Dead is provided by public television viewers.