Excavations resume at Tyana Roman Baths in Türkiye after 20 years

Osman Doganay, head of the Tyana Excavation Team and a professor at Aksaray University, told Anadolu Agency that excavations have resumed at the Roman Baths in the ancient city of Tyana after a 20-year pause, with archaeologists working under the Culture and Tourism Ministry's Heritage for the Future Project to uncover pre-Roman layers and associated sporting structures.

Imperial construction and aqueducts

The baths were built by Emperor Caracalla in AD 213 and modified by his successors, Doganay said, noting that excavations conducted between 2002 and 2006 established the layout as a public bathhouse positioned on the southern slopes of Tyana Mound to maximize heat exposure. Water reached the complex through pipes connected to the Roman Pool via aqueducts, he added, confirming the infrastructure sustained the metropolitan center that Tyana once represented in Cappadocia.

Bronze Age layer beneath

Test excavations extending nearly two meters below the surface revealed that the Roman builders had constructed the baths directly over a Bronze Age settlement layer, Doganay reported. "Changes were also made to the structure of these baths during the reigns of emperors who succeeded Caracalla. We can confirm this with certainty," he said, adding that the team now aims to determine whether a palaestra or gymnasium adjoins the complex while retrieving cultural evidence predating the Roman era.

Tourism ambitions

The excavation team hopes to establish the baths as a distinct tourist destination within Cappadocia, where no comparable complex exists, Doganay said. "There is no comparable bath complex of this kind in the Cappadocia region. As part of our efforts to promote Tyana as a destination for tourism and contribute to the regional economy, we are working to include the Roman Baths in visitor routes through the ancient city and establish the complex as a destination in its own right," he stated.