Археологичид Туркийн баруун хэсэгт орших Траллеис хотын нутаг дэвсгэрээс 2000 орчим жилийн настай, Ромын үеийн томоохон усан сангийн үлдэгдлийг илрүүлсэн байна.
Аднан Мендерес их сургуулийн судлаачид 2026 онд малтлагаар илрүүлсэн уг байгууламж нь 37 метр урт, 12 метр өргөн, 1.5 метр гүнтэй ажээ. Ромчуудын “нататио” хэмээн нэрлэдэг байсан энэхүү хүйтэн усны сан нь 40,000 ам метр талбай бүхий томоохон цогцолборын нэг хэсэг бөгөөд нэг дор 300 орчим хүн зэрэг сэлэх боломжтой байв. Тус цогцолбор нь өдөрт 3,000-5,000 орчим хүнд үйлчилж, биеийн тамир болон нийгмийн харилцааны төв болж байжээ.
Усан санг усаар хангахын тулд хойд уулархаг бүсээс 56 километр үргэлжлэх ус дамжуулах хоолойн сүлжээг байгуулсан нь тухайн үеийн инженерийн өндөр түвшний шийдлийг харуулж байна. Археологич Мурат Чекилмезийн тайлбарласнаар, цогцолбор нь бохирдсон усыг зайлуулах, цэвэрлэх, шинэ усаар дүүргэх боломжтой бохир усны системтэй байжээ.
Тус бүс нутагт МЭӨ 26 онд болсон газар хөдлөлтийн дараа Ромын эзэн хаан Августын дэмжлэгтэйгээр хотыг сэргээн босгосон бөгөөд энэхүү усан сан нь тухайн цэцэглэн хөгжлийн үед хамаардаг. Судлаачид олдворын бүтэц, усны менежментийн системийг нарийвчлан судлах зорилгоор малтлагын ажлаа үргэлжлүүлж байна.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
Archaeologists have uncovered a huge roman swimming pool in Tralleis, western Turkey, giving a rare glimpse into how people enjoyed sports, bathing, and social life nearly 2,000 years ago. The ancient basin was large enough to welcome hundreds of swimmers at once and was part of a major public complex.
The discovery was made in the ancient city of Tralleis, near modern-day Aydın, where researchers from Adnan Menderes University completed the excavation in 2026. While many ancient sites leave behind temples, theaters, and ruins of covered baths, large outdoor swimming areas are much harder to find in such a complete state.
The pool belonged to a vast thermal and sports complex where residents could exercise, cool off, and spend time together. The discovery gives archaeologists a better understanding of how important water and physical activities were in everyday life during the roman period.
A Giant Pool Built For Ancient Swimmers
The newly uncovered basin was an impressive structure. It measured 37 meters long and 12 meters wide, with a depth of around 1.5 meters. The Romans called this type of cold-water swimming pool a natatio.
According to Arkeonews, the pool could welcome almost 300 people at the same time. It was located inside a much larger complex covering around 40,000 square meters, with bathing rooms and areas used for physical training.
The site was a busy place. Archaeologists estimate that between 3,000 and 5,000 people visited the complex every day. Some came to relax and escape the heat, while others, including young athletes, used the facilities to train their bodies.
The pool shows that roman public spaces were about much more than bathing. They were also meeting places where people could exercise, socialize, and spend part of their daily lives.
56-Kilometer Water Route Fed Ancient Pool
Supplying such a large swimming pool was a major engineering challenge. Water came from mountain areas north of Tralleis and traveled nearly 56 kilometers through a network built to bring it into the city. The complex had drainage channels that allowed workers to empty the basin, clean it, and refill it with fresh water. This system helped keep the pool operational despite its size and the number of visitors using it.
“Here, spring water was in use. The aqueduct system runs about 56 kilometers, bringing water from the northern mountains. We also found a sewer system during our digs, built for quick water flushing. It would fill up fast, and when it got dirty, they would drain it and clean it out,” stated archaeologist Murat Çekilmez.
The outdoor location also made sense for the region. In the Meander Valley, summers could be extremely hot, and the pool offered residents a way to cool down while enjoying a public space. The remains of the water system show how much effort went into creating comfortable urban facilities. The pool was not an isolated structure but part of a carefully planned network connected to the wider city.
A 2,000-Year-Old Pool From Tralleis’ Revival
The story of the pool is also linked to a difficult moment in the city’s history. In 26 BC, an earthquake damaged parts of Tralleis, including its bathing district. The area was later rebuilt with support from emperor Augustus.
After the reconstruction, the city was temporarily renamed Caesarea in honor of Augustus before returning to the name Tralleis. The pool dates from this period when the city became one of the prosperous centers of the roman province of Asia.
Because of its impressive size, the basin stands out among ancient pools discovered across the region and offers a rare glimpse into the scale of public bathing spaces in antiquity. Çekilmez described it as an “olympic” pool for its time, highlighting its unusual dimensions and the level of planning required to build such a structure.
Excavations will continue around the surrounding rooms and nearby areas to better understand how the complex was organized, how water was managed, and how people used the space in their daily lives nearly two thousand years ago.
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