9 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

1,800 years old Sewer system found in ancient city of Mastaura

Archaeologists found an 1800-year-old sewer system during excavations in the ancient city of Mastaura, in the Nazilli district of Aydın province in western Turkey.

Researchers have been working on the site, located inside a narrow valley and some 3 kilometers north of Nazilli, for the past two years. The ancient city spans an area of some 160,000 square meters.

“The size of the structure is amazing. A person can easily walk through the system, which spreads all over the ancient city. It appears to represent an early example of municipality work,” said Umut Tuncer, provincial director of culture.

The head of the excavations, Sedat Akkurnaz, a member of the archaeology department at Aydın Adnan Menderes University said in ancient times, a river ran through Mastaura and people settled on both sides of the waterway.

Photo: İHA

“What we see here is the sewer system built underground. The engineering technique and materials used in the structure suggest that the construction work started sometime around 200 B.C., and the sewer system was in use throughout the ancient period during the Roman Empire era,” Akkurnaz explained.

“We can only go some 20 meters into the sewer because there are cave-ins inside the structure blocking the path.”

About 2 years ago, a structure similar to the Colosseum in Rome, which is considered the best example of Roman architecture in the world, was unearthed in the 2,700-year-old ancient city of Mastaura.

Photo: İHA

Inspired by the notes of European travelers who traveled in the region about 200 years ago, archaeologists discovered the only example of the Colosseum in Rome. There are seven to eight similar examples in Anatolia but they have not survived until today.

The Mastaura ancient city was on the route of commercial places and had the privilege of minting money. Strabon mentioned about Mastaura as well as Orthosia. It was the episcopal centre during Christianity Period and it participated to Ephesos and Khalkedon councils. Some monuments and coins were found in the region that is called “Mastavra Castle” among public.

Related Articles

2000-year-old passage found after Latrina at Smyrna Theater

28 January 2022

28 January 2022

Archaeologists discovered a 2,000-year-old passage that was 26 meters long and constructed in an “L” form in the theater part...

China’s 4300-Year-Old Ancient Pyramids

26 March 2021

26 March 2021

Shaanxi Province in Northwest China is famous for its rich archaeological treasures. Among the many sites discovered in Shaanxi, the...

Headless skeletons discovered in Prehistoric mass grave

14 January 2023

14 January 2023

Archaeologists have found a mass grave site containing 38 decapitated burials at a Neolithic settlement in Vráble, Slovakia. The remains...

1,400-year-old temple from the time of the East Anglian Kings discovered at Suffolk royal settlement

21 November 2023

21 November 2023

Archaeologists have uncovered a possibly pre-Christian temple from the time of the East Anglian Kings at Rendlesham, near Sutton Hoo...

Perre Ancient City Set to Revive Its 1,800-Year-Old Grape Mill

26 January 2025

26 January 2025

In Perre, one of the five major cities of the Kingdom of Commagene, ancient production methods will meet today’s technology....

Tombs rich in artifacts discovered by Swedish archaeologists in Cyprus

7 July 2023

7 July 2023

A Swedish archaeological expedition made the extraordinary discovery of tombs outside the Bronze Age trading metropolis of Hala Sultan Tekke...

A unique tomb decorated with amber was discovered near Petrozavodsk

26 August 2021

26 August 2021

According to a press release from the Petrozavodsk State University a unique tomb was discovered on the western shore of...

A wash-basin decorated with 2500-year-old Mythological creatures and Chariot races was discovered in Izmir, Turkey

28 September 2022

28 September 2022

Unique ceramic figures were discovered in the excavations carried out this year in the ancient city of Klazomenai in the...

A Decorated Block with Decapitated Gaul Found for the First Time in Toul, France

22 July 2024

22 July 2024

A Corinthian-style carved block that was once part of the entablature of a monumental Gallo-Roman public building has been discovered...

A 4000-Year-Old Seal Found in the prehistoric coastal site of Kalba on the Gulf of Oman

5 April 2024

5 April 2024

Archaeologists discovered a Gulf-type seal made of soft stone dating to the end of the third millennium BC at Kalba,...

4000-year-old boat salvaged near the ancient city of Uruk one of the most important cities in ancient Mesopotamia

6 April 2022

6 April 2022

A team of archaeologists from the Iraqi German Mission of the State Board of Antiquities and the Orient Department of...

DNA from human remains found in medieval well shines new light into a significant historical crime and into Ashkenazi Jewish history

30 November 2022

30 November 2022

An analysis of DNA from 12th-century human remains has provided new insights into a significant historical crime and into Ashkenazi...

China exhibits 2,000-year-old artifacts discovered in Guangzhou

12 August 2021

12 August 2021

On August 10, the National Museum of China launched an exhibition featuring archaeological finds from ancient China’s Qin (221–207 BC)...

A 2,000-year-old monumental Roman villa Found Under a Seaside May Be Pliny the Elder’s house

23 January 2024

23 January 2024

Researchers have discovered the remnants of a massive Roman villa thought to have ties to Pliny the Elder while working...

Iron Age Ingenuity: Unique Dacian Stonemasons’ Tools Discovered in Romania

10 May 2025

10 May 2025

An extraordinary discovery in a Romanian forest near the hill of Măgura Călanului has unveiled a unique set of 15...