‘Olympic’ pool unearthed at Tralleis in western Türkiye
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.
