Following the fortuitous discovery in 2014 by Turkish archaeologist Mustafa Sahin of the foundations of a Byzantine basilica submerged in Lake Iznik, not far from Istanbul, an international team of French, Turkish, Swiss and American researchers led by French scientist Julia de Sigoyer - a specialist in archaeoseismicity - is investigating in close collaboration with the team of Turkish archaeologists to try and retrace the history of this mysterious basilica.

Why is it submerged? What tragic fate lurks at the bottom of this lake? What could the excavation of such an edifice reveal? There's a reason why these remains have aroused the passionate and enthusiastic interest of an entire international scientific team: its location, Iznik. This is the current Turkish name for the ancient Roman city of Nicaea. Here, in the 4th century A.D., in the year 325, a seminal event in the history of the entire Roman Empire and the building of Christianity took place: the 1st Council of Nicaea.

Three hundred bishops from all over the "European continent", from England to Jerusalem, gathered for the first time around the Roman Emperor Constantine to debate and validate the divine nature of Christ. This ecumenical assembly could have been a simple religious event, but in fact it was to mark one of the most fascinating turning points in modern human history. The entire Roman Empire was about to undergo a paradigm shift. From being pagan and polytheistic, worshiping many gods, the Empire was to adopt the hated and martyred religion of Christianity, to believe in just one god!

This was one of the most significant political, social and spiritual transformations in history, making the Christian religion a veritable state religion. Yet clues from early excavations suggest that the submerged basilica dates back to the 4th century AD! Could it have been the site of the 1st Council of Nicaea?