2,000-Year-Old Mosaic Hall Unearthed in Tralleis Ancient City

During excavations at the Tralleis Ancient City in Aydın's Efeler district, a hall adorned with Roman-era floor mosaics has been discovered. The mosaic features depictions of Poseidon and the mythological hippocampus.

Scraper SystemJuly 29, 2026, 09:19 PM

2,000-Year-Old Mosaic Hall Unearthed in Tralleis Ancient City

During excavations at the Tralleis Ancient City in the Efeler district of Aydın, a 2,000-year-old mosaic-paved hall has been unearthed. Excavation head Prof. Dr. Murat Çekilmez stated that the find excited them.

The work, led by Prof. Dr. Murat Çekilmez of Adnan Menderes University's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, is ongoing within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's “Heritage for the Future” project. The team focused on the bath-gymnasium (a multi-purpose educational complex) of the ancient city, located 2 kilometers from the city center.

Tralleis'te 2 bin yıllık mozaikli salon gün yüzüne çıkarıldı - Son Dakika Haberleri

Education and Science Center

Prof. Dr. Çekilmez said in a statement that they believe the bath-gymnasium complex was a place where children received education from a young age and also a scientific field. “There are also school-related spaces within the structure. Great importance was given to physical education. This gymnasium trained many scientists; we know that there were individuals from different professions such as doctors and engineers.”

Pointing out that Tralleis Ancient City was a center that produced writers and scientists in ancient times, Çekilmez said they reached a mosaic hall in the excavations they initiated this year in the northern area.

Mosaic Depicting Poseidon

Examinations in the mosaic hall revealed a floor mosaic dating to the Roman Empire period, depicting the sea god Poseidon and his sacred animal, the hippocampus. Çekilmez said, “This mosaic indicates that the hall was actively used. When we first excavated, we found a Byzantine-era workshop on top of it, but later a very well-preserved mosaic emerged on the floor.”

The excavation head emphasized that a significant portion of the approximately 2,000-year-old mosaic has survived intact to the present day, and noted that this find is of great value both scientifically and in terms of depicting the daily life and mythology of the period. He added that it is aimed to open the area to visitors soon.

2,000-Year-Old Mosaic Hall Unearthed in Tralleis Ancient City