Extraordinary finds from antiquity have recently been unearthed in Ephesus, the Turkish city where the Apostle Paul once preached.
The discovery was announced on December 12 by Anadolu Agency (AA), a state-owned company in Ankara. Ephesus is also known as one of the seven churches of Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
The star of the dig was a marble bathtub from Roman times, along with the fragment of the torso of a male statue that was later reused as a paving stone.
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Speaking to AA, archaeologist Serdar Aybek said the bathtub dates back to the first century AD. Unlike the large public bath complexes of Ephesus, the bath recently uncovered was probably ‘intended for domestic use’.
“It’s an unusual discovery because we don’t come across it very often,” Aybek said.
“We believe it belonged to the Terrace Houses and was used in the first century AD,” he added. “We found it during work at the theater, and its size shows it was used in a home.”
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The bathtub was found along the old Stadionstraat. It probably belonged to the Terrace Houses complex of Ephesus, where wealthy Roman families lived in lavish villas.
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The bathtub was carved with Greco Scritto marble — a regional variety with distinctive black veins — and was nearly five feet long, six feet wide and six feet high, authorities said.
Researchers say the Roman-era bathtub was likely used in a private home rather than the large public bath complexes. (Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
After being used by a high-income household, the bath was later repurposed as a fountain basin.
Aybek also described the discovery of the statue fragment, which dated between the first century BC and the first century AD, as “completely unexpected.”
The Statue of the Unknown Man was cut into several parts and attached together before being later dismantled.
The statue fragment dates from between the first century BC and the first century AD, archaeologists said. (Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Archaeologists found it face down and said it was used as a paving stone in the roadway.
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The discoveries follow many recent discoveries in Asia Minor related to early Christian history.
Ephesus is known as one of the seven churches of Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelation. (Mehmet Emin Menguarslan/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In October a 1,500 year old one Christian floor mosaic was found in Urfa, a city traditionally considered the birthplace of Abraham.
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In Laodicea – a city also mentioned in the Book of Revelation – the remains of a huge Roman council chamber were excavated this summer.
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