First of its kind 1600-year-old indoor swimming pool unearthed in Albania

Archaeologists in the Albanian city of Durrës excavated an ancient Roman villa with an indoor pool. According to archaeologists, the 1600-year-old indoor pool is the first of its kind.

In a Facebook post dated May 9, the Albanian National Institute of Cultural Heritage said archaeologists uncovered a distinguished ancient Roman quarter while excavating ahead of the construction of a school in Durrës.

Among the remains of an ancient Roman villa are traces of an indoor pool decorated with well-preserved mosaics, the institute said.

The remains are at least 1,600 years old and date to between 1 and 400 AD, the institute said, adding that recent excavations uncovered two shallow bathtubs with waterproof mortar coatings.

In another part of the site, a large brick floor and several walls that may be the remains of a two-story ancient Roman bathhouse were uncovered, the institute said in a statement.

Archaeologists believe that this villa, mentioned in ancient sources, was destroyed by an earthquake in the 4th century AD.

The excavations also uncovered wall fragments, ceilings and tile mosaics.

Durrës, located on the Adriatic Sea coast in western Albania, was founded as a Greek colony in 627 BC.

An important trade center and port city in ancient times, Durrës was under the rule of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires.

Cover photo: Albania’s National Institute of Cultural Heritage