Ancient Roman bath undergoing archaeological work to open its doors for the tourists

Saturday, August 4, 2018

An ancient Roman bath in central Turkey is undergoing archaeological work to open its doors for the tourists. This year, the 2000-year-old Basilica Therma was added to the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list.

 
Excavation work at the bath located in the Sarıkaya district of Yozgat province started in 2010, unearthing a semi-Olympic size swimming pool. The excavation area was expanded in 2014.

 
Metin Halıcı, the provincial head of the Culture and Tourism Ministry, said that a master plan was prepared to introduce the historical bath to international tourism. Halıcı said that excavation work is carried out in line with this master plan, and added that a symposium will be organized in November to introduce the Roman bath at the national level, while in January another will be organized at the international level.

 
Halıcı said that the promotional activities would pay back in the form of a large number of tourists. To quote Halıcı, “Our promotions are rapidly going on, and we have a new plan to enter the UNESCO World Heritage list. One of the most prominent features of the bath is that thermal water is still boiling inside. We want to present this historic, ancient thermal welfare center, thermal treatment center to the people.”

 
The Basilica Therma is believed to have been built after the daughter of a Roman king, who lived in central Kayseri, fell sick. The bath was built to treat her. She was cured through the healing properties of the thermal waters. Hence, the locals call the bath the “King’s daughter.”

 
During the excavations between 2010 and 2015, many pieces belonging to Byzantine, Seljuks and Ottoman Imperial periods were discoevered.

 
The largest thermal pool in the Roman bath measures 23.30 x 12.80 meters and has a depth of 1.34 meters. The temperature of the pool water is about 45 degrees Celsius.

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