They hosted the elite of Tripolis in the fish pond villa of the ancient city.

A new villa, symbolizing ostentation and magnificence, spreading over an area of 1,500 square meters with interior walls covered with colorful frescoes and a fish pond in front, was discovered during excavations carried out in the ancient city of Tripolis in the Buldan district of Denizli.

Excavations in the ancient city, located in the Yenicekent neighborhood, right next to the Büyük Menderes River, have been carried out for 13 years by a team led by Pamukkale University Archaeology Department faculty member Prof. Dr. Bahadır Duman.

Considered one of the best-preserved ancient cities in Western Anatolia, Tripolis has already revealed many important artifacts to the scientific community and the public. These include 1,700-year-old frescoes, a 1,500-year-old church, and a 12-room villa estimated to be 2,000 years old, with a mosaic floor, colorful frescoes on the walls, and floral and geometric decorations.

In addition, 1,500-year-old grain warehouses, a 2,000-year-old Roman marketplace, an early version of backgammon, the remains of an olive oil workshop, a stone-cutting workshop, metal saw pieces and an inscription containing orders, a sewage system, a 200-meter-long trench, and a monumental fountain were also found in the ancient city.

The most important work of this year's excavations so far is the villa, estimated to be 1600 years old, consisting of four rooms, two halls, a columned gallery, a 40-square-meter fish pond and a very large inner garden in front of it.

Duman, who stated that a team of 40 people worked on the site, said, "We encountered important findings in the field. The building complex we are working on covers a total area of 1,500 square meters, 480 meters of which is enclosed. It contains four rooms, two large halls, a columned courtyard and cistern, two fountains, a fish pond, and a columned gallery. We can describe it as a rather large villa structure. I call it a villa because it is larger than standard residences, and the elements used in the architectural decoration and wall ornamentation here are somewhat different from the other standard residences we have found."

Duman stated that all the interior walls of the villa were decorated with colorful frescoes.

Duman, explaining that the frescoes on the walls feature plant elements and architectural decoration, said, "The villa's interior walls are adorned with frescoes in many different shades, from yellow to blue, brown to red. At the southern entrance of the villa, there is a 20-meter-long and 4-meter-wide columned gallery, with a 40-square-meter pool in front of it."

Guests hosted at the villa were served fish they had grown in the pool.

Duman said that the pool in front of the villa was very different from the others and that they came across many seashells during their work around this structure and the villa.

Duman explained that there are fish figures on the marble floors surrounding the pool, and noted:

This is actually a fish pond. Terracotta water pipes were used on the inside walls of the rectangular pool. Half of these pipes are open, the other half are closed. Small nests were built here to protect the fish raised here from sunlight and provide shelter. In past years, we have encountered various finds related to freshwater fishing in the ancient city of Tripolis, located on the banks of the Meander River. This pool confirms this information. Finding such finds related to fish farming on the seashore is normal, but the presence of such a fish pond in the interior of Anatolia during that period is one of the rare examples. We understand that this pool housed a variety of fish, including carp, catfish, and eel. We can say that the fish raised in the pool were served to the large guests hosted in the villa. During the Roman period, fish ponds stood out as elements that both met their culinary needs and served as a display for the host in the magnificent reception halls where guests were received.