Archaeologists have uncovered a 2,000-year-old swimming pool believed to have been “Olympic” in scale during excavations at the ancient city of Tralleis in the western province of Aydın.
Excavations at the site, located around 3 kilometers from Aydın’s city center, are being led by Professor Murat Çekilmez from Aydın Adnan Menderes University as part of the Culture and Tourism Ministry’s “Heritage for the Future” project.
The pool was discovered within a 40,000-square-meter Roman bath complex. Measuring 37 meters long and 12 meters wide, the cold-water pool could accommodate around 300 people, according to Çekilmez.
“Cold-water swimming pools were typically located at the center of bath complexes in antiquity. The example at Tralleis had a capacity of approximately 300 people,” he said.
Researchers believe bathhouse visitors used the pool to cool off during the hot summer months, while students from the adjacent gymnasium also trained there.
Serving as a premier center for physical education, the gymnasium prepared young students for the rigors of professional athleticism, making swimming a vital part of their training, Çekilmez said. To ensure these local competitors were ready for games in other ancient cities, Tralleis built its facilities to strict, standardized dimensions, he added.
The pool, which is 1.5 meters deep, matches the standard depth of ancient swimming pools and is larger than similar examples found in nearby ancient cities, he said.
Archaeologists also uncovered part of the city’s sophisticated water infrastructure, including a 56-kilometer water supply system that carried spring water from mountains north of the city and a drainage network that allowed the pool to be emptied and cleaned quickly.
Çekilmez said the team plans to refill the pool with water after the excavation and conservation work is completed.
