Roman Bath protected by glass terrace

KARABUK

The mosaics in the Roman Bath, located in the ancient city of Hadrianopolis in the Eskipazar district of Karabük, will be protected against external factors with a glass terrace.

The ancient city of Hadrianopolis is believed to have been used for settlement until the eighth century.

Within the scope of the excavation and restoration works carried out under the direction of Ersin Çelikbaş, a lecturer at Karabük University (KBÜ) Archaeology Department and head of the excavations, the tepidarium (warm room) section of the Roman bath was closed with a glass terrace and the mosaics there became clearly visible.

The mosaics in the area will be protected against external factors with the closed glass terrace and will allow visitors to see the historical buildings from above.

“One of the areas we work on is the structure we call the Roman Bath. The construction date of the building dates back to the fourth century A.D., but we know that it was used uninterruptedly for 300 years, with various renovations and changes. So we can say that the building was abandoned at the end of the seventh century A.D. This is one of the most important structures of the ancient city that will add value to the region,” he said.

Stating that it is possible to see mosaics in every structure where excavations have been completed in Hadrianopolis, Çelikbaş said: “This structure is the same. We made a project to restore the mosaics in this structure so that visitors can see them. In this project, we covered the warm section, which is the most important part of the structure, with a glass construction.

Çelikbaş stated that with the glass terrace, they also aim to protect the mosaics against external factors such as rain and to provide a visual feast for visitors.

“Currently, Hadrianopolis does not have the status of a ruin,” Çelikbaş said. “But a welcome center is underway. Nearly 80 percent of it has been completed. With the welcome center, we are now ready to gain the status of a ruin.”