Ancient house with floor heating unearthed in southern Turkey

ISPARTA – Doğan News Agency

The house with floor heating, water and sewage systems saw a number of different civilizations until the 11th century. DHA Photo

A Roman-era house that has been unearthed in the ancient city of Pisidia in the southern province of Isparta’s Yalvaç district used the floor heating system, archaeologists have said, adding that the house also had water and sewage systems.

“We determined that it is a two-story house, with a bath, sauna and floor-heating system. The whole floor of the house was heated up with the furnace. We also unearthed a water system in the house,” said Süleyman Demirel University Archaeology Department Professor Mehmet Özhanlı, who is heading the excavations in Pisidia, an important center of early Christianity.

The house, which was discovered last year and covers an area of nearly 2,000 square meters, was built in 25 B.C. and resembled a typical Anatolian house.

The professor said the house had been used until the 11th century, adding that it was located on the avenue, which means that it was owned by a rich or notable Roman. “We don’t have more concrete data about it, but we know the building was home to many different civilizations until the 11th century,” he said.

Özhanlı said traces showed that the house had been burned down. “Below the layer of fire we found Christian iconographic paintings on marble. It shows that the house was mostly used in the fourth century. Most probably, it was burned down during Arab raids in the eighth century,” he said.

Excavations have been continuing at Pisidia for the past five years.