Secret treasure: Roman-era mosaic hidden beneath building opens to public in Turkey

Visitors feasted their eyes on a massive mosaic dating back to the 2nd century A.D. at a symposium entitled "4 epochs, 4 locations, and 1 story" in Turkey's metropolitan city of Istanbul on Thursday.

The Roman-era mosaic, spanning some 50 square meters, was discovered beneath a historical building that was used as a municipality complex for 25 years and which is currently under restoration for archaeological remains in the bustling Zeytinburnu district.

In the Ottoman period, the building served as a military hospital; it was later transformed into a dormitory and then a food market that was specially designated by municipalities in the Republican era.

"I worked at this building for 15 years and I was not aware that there lay a cultural treasure one-and-a-half meters beneath the surface," Zeytinburnu Mayor Ömer Arısoy told reporters at the symposium.

"The municipality building of the Zeytinburnu district was relocated to its new complex after 25 years of being located at this building... The building was in need of restoration and those recently discovered [mosaics] were found during this restoration process," Arısoy added.

He also underlined that they sought to open a new mosaic museum in Istanbul, featuring the Roman mosaics discovered at the site.

Archaeological works continue in a bid to unearth the rest of the Roman mosaic.

The building is currently open to visitors on Mondays.