Giant swimming pool in ancient Roman city

A 30-meter long, 1.7-meter wide, 1-meter deep swimming pool dating back to the Roman Empire was excavated in the ancient city of Aphrodisias, Türkiye.

The giant pool dates back to the Roman Empire. Photo: Anadolu Agency.

The giant pool was discovered during the excavation project of the ancient city of Aphrodisias, Aydin province, Türkiye byProfessor Roland RR Smith, Oxford University, UK, in charge,Hurriyet Daily Newsyesterday news

The ancient city of Aphrodisias is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and attracts attention for its massive, intact architecture."Aphrodisias is one of the most important archaeological discoveries in the world, with many artifacts found here during excavations," Smith shared.

The pool is one of the most important architectural elements in the ancient city. It and the surrounding park were the first sites to be excavated, revealing important information about life in Roman cities 2,100 years ago.

Excavation results show that this structure originated from the first century BC and is enormous in size compared to the scale of the city.

"The pool is 30 meters long, 1.7 meters wide and 1 meter deep. It was built to be large to demonstrate the power of the city. In fact, Aphrodisias was not a large city. The population here was very small but the constructions were built to make it a large metropolis. Cities during the Roman Empire often competed with each other in architecture. That's why they built this giant pool," Smith explained.

Through the excavation process, archaeologists gained important knowledge about the techniques used to build the structure.

"The architecture of the pool is from the Roman Empire. Local officials often visited Rome and imitated the architecture there. Around the pool there are palm trees, inscriptions and even pipes circulating water to clean it. We believe this was a large park and the only park of the Roman Empire. It is a combination of trees, aristocratic architecture and water," Smith shared.

According to VNE