Tripolis: Ancient villa with fish pool hosts
Excavation work has been ongoing for 13 years in the ancient city located next to the Büyük Menderes River in Yenicekent Mahallesi, led by Prof. Dr. Bahadır Duman, a faculty member of the Archaeology Department at Pamukkale University.
- Turkey
- Published Date: 08:58 | 19 July 2025
- Modified Date: 09:06 | 19 July 2025
Tripolis, considered one of the best-preserved ancient cities in Western Anatolia, has shared many important artifacts with the scientific community and the public. Among these are 1,700-year-old frescoes, a 1,500-year-old church, and a 12-room villa estimated to be 2,000 years old, featuring a mosaic-covered floor, colorful frescoes on its walls, and plant-inspired geometric decorations.
In addition, 1,500-year-old grain silos, a 2,000-year-old Roman-era marketplace, an early version of backgammon, the remains of an olive oil workshop, a stone cutting workshop, metal saw fragments, an inscription listing orders, a sewage system, a 200-meter-long trench, and a monumental fountain were also found in the ancient city.
The most important find of this year's excavations so far is a villa dating back 1,600 years, consisting of four rooms and two halls, with a columned gallery, a 40-square-meter fish pond, and a large inner courtyard in front of it.
Prof. Dr. Bahadır Duman said that the excavation and restoration work at the ancient city of Tripolis is continuing as part of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's Heritage for the Future Project.
"The building complex we are working on can be described as a large villa structure with four rooms, two large halls, a columned courtyard and cistern, two fountains, a fish pond, and a columned gallery, covering a total area of 1,500 square meters, 480 meters of which are enclosed," he said.
"The interior walls of the villa are adorned with frescoes using various colors ranging from yellow to blue and from brown to red."
"The inner walls of the rectangular pool feature clay water pipes. Small niches were created to protect the fish from sunlight and provide them with shelter. In the ancient city of Tripolis, located along the Menderes River, we have previously discovered various artifacts related to freshwater fishing. We understand that this pool housed various fish species such as carp, catfish, and eel. It is possible to say that fish raised in the pool were served to the large number of guests hosted at the villa. "