{"id":41825,"date":"2026-08-22T23:57:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T23:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/41825\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T23:57:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T23:57:13","slug":"turkish-archaeologists-unearth-roman-era-pool-mosaic-in-ancient-gymnasium","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/41825\/","title":{"rendered":"Turkish archaeologists unearth Roman-era pool, mosaic in ancient gymnasium"},"content":{"rendered":"

Archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed two ancient finds during excavations in the ancient city of Tralleis in Turkey\u2019s<\/a> southwest province of Aydin as part of the country\u2019s “Legacy for the Future” project at the site.<\/p>\n

Two weeks ago, Turkey\u2019s Culture and Tourism Ministry, announced that a 2,000-year-old pool was found inside the Hamam Gymnasium complex\u2019s frigidarium, the cold room of a Roman bath.<\/p>\n

Frigidariums, often located at the northern end of Roman<\/a> baths, were used as the second to last stage of the bathing process in order to tighten the skin, invigrate the body, and close pores. After the frigidarium, bathers would cover themselves in oil.<\/p>\n

It was unearthed during excavations lead by Professor Dr. Murat \u00c7ekilmez of the Aydin Adnan Menderes University, in collaboration with Turkey\u2019s Culture and Tourism Ministry, and the Turkish Cultural Heritage and Museums general-directorate.<\/p>\n

Measuring to approximately 37 meters long and 12 meters wide, the pool has the capacity to hold around 300 people, and is believed to have been used by young people receiving training at the gymnasium.<\/p>\n

\"AerialAerial photo of 2,000-year-old pool found in the ancient city of Tralleis in Turkey, August 21, 2026. (credit: Screenshot\/X\/@MehmetNuriErsoy)<\/p>\n

\u201cI wholeheartedly thank all the employees of our General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, our excavation team, our academics, and everyone who contributed to this valuable work,\u201d said Turkish Culture and Tourism Minster Mehmet Nuri Ersoy in a post to X\/Twitter announcing the discovery. \u201cWe will continue to protect the traces of our civilization through scientific studies and carry the legacy of the past into the future with unwavering determination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ancient mosaic found in gymnasium complex<\/p>\n

In late July, a separate excavation in Tralleis led by Cekilmez unearthed a nearly 2,000-year-old hall with a Roman-era floor mosaic of the hippocampus, according to Turkey\u2019s state-run news agency Andalou Agency (AA).<\/p>\n

The hippocampus is a sea creature from Greek mythology, commonly associated with the deity Poseidon.<\/p>\n

Cekilmez told Andalou Agency that the find was made more exciting since the area had at first appeared to only house a Byzantine-era workshop, but as excavations went on, \u201cwe realised there was a mosaic floor beneath the structure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was an exciting moment for us because it is a very well-preserved mosaic within the bath-gymnasium complex at Tralleis.\u201d Cekilmez said to Andalou Agency. \u201cIt is significant both scientifically and for what it reveals about the daily life and mythology of the period.\u201d<\/p>\n

The discovery of the mosaic<\/a> \u201cindicates that the hall was actively used during the Roman Imperial period,” according to Cekilmez.<\/p>\n

Gymnasium trained doctors, engineers in antiquity<\/p>\n

Cekilmez explained to Andalou Agency that the Hamam Gymnasium complex is thought to have been an important educational institution where children were able to learn from an early age.<\/p>\n

“We also believe this was a centre of science because the structure contains spaces related to schooling,\u201d said Cekilmez. \u201cPhysical education was also highly valued here. The gymnasium we see today trained many scholars, including doctors and engineers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTralleis was known in antiquity as a place that produced writers and scientists, and our excavations are bringing this heritage back to light.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Greek geographer Strabo, Tralleis\u00a0was founded by the Argives and Trallians, before falling to the Persian Empire and later, in 334 BCE, surrendered to Alexander the Great.<\/a><\/p>\n

The ancient city continued to trade hands from Antigonus I Monophthalmus, who served as Alexander\u2019s general, to the city of Pergamon and the Romans. The city was eventually Christianized, and then, in the late 11th century, reconquered by the Byzantine Empire.<\/p>\n

One of Tralleis\u2019s famed residents is Anthemius of Tralleis alles, who went on to become the architect of the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Archaeologists in Turkey have unearthed two ancient finds during excavations in the ancient city of Tralleis in Turkey\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":41826,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[4617,3485,16143,27390,14823,16445,14969,27,494],"class_list":["post-41825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rome","tag-archaeological-site","tag-archaeology","tag-global-news","tag-gym","tag-mosaic","tag-pool","tag-romans","tag-rome","tag-turkey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41825\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/italy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}