Huge pool in ancient Roman city

The swimming pool is 30m long, 1.7m wide, 1m deep, originating from the Roman Empire excavated in the old city of Aphrodisias, Turkey.

The giant pool was discovered during the excavation project of the ancient city of Aphrodisias , Aydin Province, Turkey by Professor Roland RR Smith, Oxford University, UK, in charge, reported yesterday by the Hurriyet Daily News.

The ancient city of Aphrodisias is on the UNESCO World Heritage list and attracts attention by its massive, intact architecture."Aphrodisias is one of the most important archaeological findings in the world, many artifacts are found here during excavation," Smith said.

The giant pool originated in the Roman Empire period.(Photo: Anadolu Agency).

Swimming pool is one of the important architectural elements in the old city. It, along with the surrounding park, were the first excavated places, revealing important information about life in Roman cities 2100 years ago.

The excavation results show that this work originated in the first century BC and was of a huge size compared to the size of the city.

"The pool is 30m long, 1.7m wide and 1m deep. It was built to prove the strength of the city. In fact, Aphrodisias is not a big city. The population here is small but the "The building was built to turn it into a big city. Cities during the Roman Empire often competed with each other on architecture. That's why they built this huge pool," Smith explained.

Through the excavation process, archaeologists obtained important knowledge about the techniques used to build the project.

"The architecture of the pool is from the Roman Empire period. Local mandarins often visit the capital of Rome and imitate the architecture there. Around the pool with palm trees, inscriptions and water circulation pipes. We think this is a large park and the only park of the Roman Empire. It is a combination of trees, aristocratic architecture and water, " Smith said.