The ancient city of Nysa is known as the ‘city with two sides’ because it was built across a valley.
Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Nysa in the western province of Aydın are uncovering a 1,500- to 1,600-year-old bathhouse believed to have served as a place where people washed and cleaned themselves before entering the city.
Excavations at Nysa, known as an educational and cultural center during the Roman period, are being conducted under the direction of Professor Serdar Hakan Öztaner of Ankara University’s Department of Archaeology, with the support of the Culture and Tourism Ministry.
Known as the “city with two sides” because it was built across a valley, Nysa is home to one of the best-preserved ancient libraries in Anatolia, a theater with a capacity of around 10,000 people, a stadium, three bridges bearing traces of Roman architecture and engineering and a tunnel.
Excavations among the olive trees are currently focusing on the Late Roman Bath, which dates to the fourth century A.D., to determine the full boundaries of the structure.
Öztaner told Anadolu Agency that excavations were continuing at the approximately 1,600-year-old bath as part of the “Heritage for the Future” project.
He said teams were working along the southern and western sides of the bath to better understand its layout.
“This year, we are continuing excavations along the arched section extending along the southern edge of the structure and on its western facade. We are also investigating the relationship between the western facade and Street 8 to establish its exact place in the city plan,” he said.
A place to wash before entering the city
Öztaner said the bathhouse was located along a street connected to the road leading to Nysa from the ancient cities of Ephesus and Tralleis.
“The Late Roman bath appears to have been a place where those arriving in the city washed and cleansed themselves before entering. We have not yet determined the full dimensions of the structure, but we have identified its main rooms,” he said.
“We are investigating its western and southern sides. It is located in the insula south of the library. Therefore, we are uncovering an important public building from the Late Roman period on the western side of Nysa, the city with two sides.”
Öztaner noted that bathhouses were often built near city entrances during the Roman period and afterward as part of urban planning and construction.
He said the team aims to determine the full boundaries of the bathhouse this year.
Öztaner said they plan to carry out conservation and restoration work alongside incorporating the structure into the city’s archaeological plan.
“We aim to clearly understand the plan of the bathhouse and introduce it to the archaeological literature. Since this is the first structure visitors to the city see, its visual appearance is also very striking,” he said.
