Monumental fountain restored in Sagalassos

BURDUR

Excavation and restoration efforts are ongoing to restore the 1,892-year-old Hadrian’s Fountain, one of the monumental fountains in the ancient city of Sagalassos, situated in the southern province of Burdur's Ağlasun district.

The Hadrian’s Fountain, dedicated to Roman Emperor Hadrian and discovered during 2002 excavations, is being unearthed after the opening of the 1,844-year-old Antonine Fountain in 2010. The ancient city of Sagalassos, dating back to 3000 B.C., is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

Under the leadership of Professor Şükrü Özüdoğru, a team comprising four archaeologists, an architect, a restoration expert and 23 workers has been working on the two-story monumental fountain adorned with goddess reliefs, which stands over 20 meters tall. The goal is to have ancient water flowing through the fountain within two years.

Düzgün Tarkan, deputy head of the excavations at Sagalassos and a faculty member in the Archaeology Department of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University (MAKÜ), said that the excavations in Sagalassos began in 1989 under the directorship of Belgian Professor Marc Waelkens.

Noting that the excavations this year started at Hadrian’s Fountain, Tarkan explained that Waelkens had partially uncovered the fountain’s facade and significant statues from the site are displayed in Burdur Museum.

Tarkan stated that excavation work was not carried out on the fountain’s eastern and western wings at the time, and the upper-level blocks had scattered over time. He explained that the steps in front of the fountain have now been reinforced, and the original stones have been replaced.

Tarkan emphasized that inscriptions reveal that the fountain was constructed between 129 and 132 A.D. in memory of Emperor Hadrian, based on the will of Tiberius Claudius Piso, Sagalassos’s first Roman knight.

"Currently, water channels to the pool can be seen between the columns. Reliefs representing muses, who symbolized artistic inspiration such as music, literature and poetry in antiquity, are also visible. Most of the nine reliefs remain in place, while a few were moved to a stone field during earlier excavations. These will be repaired and repositioned next year. Imagine six-meter-high columns on the first level, with water flowing beside magnificent statue reliefs between them. Above these, you will see ornate and decorative architectural stones. On top of this, the second-level columns and statues representing famous gods and figures of the time will also be displayed. It is highly likely that water will flow from the second level of the structure as well," Tarkan said.

He highlighted that the Antonine and Doric Fountains in Sagalassos have already been fully restored and opened to visitors. "We aim to restore and reintroduce another magnificent fountain to both our country and the ancient city of Sagalassos. Within two years, we expect to have this two-story fountain restored. Visitors will then have the chance to witness another grand fountain with a two-story façade, complete with flowing ancient water," Tarkan said.