Ottoman-Era Bathhouse Excavated in Assos

ÇANAKKALE, TURKEY—Excavations at the site of Assos, an ancient city located on Turkey’s Aegean coastline, have uncovered a bathhouse dated to the fourteenth century, according to a Hürriyet Daily News report. Nurettin Arslan of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University said that the bathhouse was found near the city’s acropolis, behind a mosque that was also constructed during the reign of Sultan Murad I. “Despite its modest size, the bathhouse is exceptionally well-preserved, making it a valuable model of early Ottoman architecture,” Arslan said. An inscription on a piece of repurposed marble found in the changing area of the bathhouse has been dated to A.D. 480 and the reign of Emperor Zeno, he added. “The text provides extensive information on taxation, financial management, judicial practices, urban and rural regulations, land ownership, and governance,” he explained. For more on Anatolian archaeology, go to "Let the Games Begin."