Allianoi Ancient Spa City was an extraordinary thermal settlement near Pergamon, in the modern Bergama district of İzmir Province. The site became especially important during the Roman Imperial Period, when monumental baths, pools, streets, bridges, fountains and medical spaces developed around naturally heated spring water.
Rescue excavations revealed that Allianoi was far more than an ordinary bath complex. Archaeologists uncovered one of the largest known ancient thermal treatment centers in the region, together with hundreds of medical and surgical instruments. The discoveries transformed Allianoi into an important source for understanding medicine, healing practices and daily life in Roman Anatolia.
Today, however, the archaeological site cannot be explored in the usual way. Allianoi was covered by the waters of the Yortanlı Dam reservoir after protective work was completed. Its surviving structures remain beneath the reservoir, making Allianoi both an archaeological treasure and a powerful symbol of cultural heritage preservation.
A monumental healing complex developed around naturally heated spring water.
Surgical and pharmaceutical instruments revealed the site’s exceptional medical importance.
Many of the most impressive structures belong to the flourishing second century AD.
Allianoi now lies beneath the Yortanlı Dam reservoir and is not open for normal public entry.
These facts provide the essential historical and archaeological context for understanding this remarkable lost site near Bergama.
Paşa Ilıcası area, approximately 18–20 km northeast of Bergama in İzmir Province.
The site reached its monumental peak during the Roman Imperial Period, especially in the second century AD.
A thermal healing, bathing and medical center built around naturally heated spring water.
Submerged beneath the Yortanlı Dam reservoir and not operating as a publicly accessible archaeological site.
Explore the development of a Roman healing center whose discoveries changed how scholars understand ancient medicine in western Anatolia.
Allianoi stood in the ancient region of Mysia, northeast of Pergamon, beside the Ilya River and the hot springs historically known as Paşa Ilıcası. The settlement’s identity is closely connected with thermal water, healing traditions and the wider medical landscape of Pergamon, one of the ancient world’s most important centers of health and learning.
Although activity in the area extended across several historical periods, Allianoi flourished most dramatically during the Roman Imperial Period. Monumental reconstruction and expansion took place particularly in the second century AD, when the thermal center developed into an extensive architectural complex with bathing halls, pools, streets, fountains, bridges and public buildings.
The association between Allianoi and medicine became especially clear during rescue excavations. Archaeologists found hundreds of medical and surgical instruments, pharmaceutical tools, inscriptions and objects connected with the cult of Asklepios. These discoveries suggest that treatment at Allianoi involved more than bathing in thermal water and may also have included organized medical practice.
Allianoi continued to be inhabited during the Byzantine period. Roman buildings were reused and adapted, while houses, workshops, chapels and a large basilica-like church appeared within the settlement. The thermal installations and monumental water structures remained important parts of the site for centuries.
Rescue excavations began in 1998 because the area was located within the planned Yortanlı Dam reservoir. Despite major archaeological discoveries and a long public debate over preservation, the reservoir began filling in 2010, and the archaeological remains were submerged. Today, Allianoi survives beneath the water as one of Türkiye’s most discussed examples of archaeological heritage affected by modern development.
From monumental thermal halls to medical instruments, the excavations revealed a highly organized center of healing, worship and daily life.
The most important structure at Allianoi was its immense Roman thermal complex. Covering approximately 9,700 square meters, it contained multiple bathing and treatment spaces supplied by naturally heated water.
Hundreds of bronze medical objects were recovered during excavation. The collection included surgical instruments, pharmaceutical tools and equipment associated with treatment and health care.
Pools, channels, fountains and a monumental nymphaeum demonstrate how carefully water was controlled throughout Allianoi. The architecture combined practical engineering with an impressive ceremonial setting.
Allianoi was not simply an isolated bathhouse. Excavations revealed streets, bridges, public buildings, residential areas, workshops and other features of a functioning settlement.
Inscriptions and votive objects connected with Asklepios, the ancient god of medicine, strengthen Allianoi’s identity as a healing center. Its location near Pergamon’s celebrated Asklepion places it within a wider regional tradition of sacred and practical medicine.
During the Byzantine era, earlier Roman architecture was reused and altered. New houses, workshops, chapels and a large church demonstrate that Allianoi remained a living settlement long after its Roman peak.
No. Allianoi is not an open archaeological park or museum. The excavated remains were covered with protective materials and later submerged beneath the Yortanlı Dam reservoir. There is no normal visitor entrance, marked archaeological route or public access to the ancient structures themselves.
The ancient settlement is not open for public archaeological visits.
There is no entrance ticket because the submerged site does not operate as a museum.
Allianoi has no official visitor opening hours.
The best surviving connection with Allianoi is through its archaeological finds, excavation records and historical photographs.
The Yortanlı Dam was developed as part of an irrigation project in the Bakırçay region. Because Allianoi stood within the planned reservoir, archaeologists carried out rescue excavations to document and recover as much material as possible before the water level rose.
The fate of Allianoi generated national and international debate. Supporters of preservation argued that the site’s exceptional thermal architecture and medical discoveries deserved permanent protection and presentation. Today, the story continues to be discussed in the fields of archaeology, cultural heritage management and the relationship between development and conservation.
Allianoi is important because it connects monumental Roman bath architecture with direct archaeological evidence for medical treatment. Few ancient sites have produced such a concentrated combination of thermal installations, surgical instruments, pharmaceutical tools, religious dedications and urban buildings.
The vast thermal center demonstrates the scale and sophistication of spa-based treatment in Roman Anatolia.
The medical instrument collection provides rare physical evidence for surgery, pharmacy and organized treatment.
Allianoi adds another dimension to the famous healing culture associated with Pergamon and Asklepios.
Its submergence made Allianoi an internationally recognized example in debates over archaeology, conservation and infrastructure.
Allianoi is often described as an ancient hospital, although the exact organization of its medical spaces remains a subject of scholarly interpretation. The remarkable concentration of surgical instruments strongly indicates that physicians were working at or near the thermal center.
Patients may have used the naturally heated water for bathing, recovery and treatment of physical conditions.
The large collection of instruments suggests that practical medical procedures were performed within the settlement.
Tools associated with medicines indicate that remedies may have been prepared and administered at Allianoi.
Objects connected with Asklepios show that medical treatment existed alongside spiritual beliefs about health and recovery.
Allianoi was located at Paşa Ilıcası on the Bergama–İvrindi road, approximately 18–20 km northeast of modern Bergama. In antiquity, this area belonged to the region of Mysia and formed part of the wider cultural landscape surrounding Pergamon.
The site lay northeast of Bergama, the modern town beside ancient Pergamon.
The location was long known for its hot spring and continued to be associated with bathing after antiquity.
The archaeological remains are now beneath the reservoir created on the Ilya River.
Allianoi formed part of a region famous for medicine, healing sanctuaries and advanced urban culture.
Objects recovered during the rescue excavations were transferred to the Bergama Museum, where Allianoi material is preserved and selected pieces may be displayed. Museum collections and individual displays can change, so visitors interested in a particular object should check current museum information before arrival.
Bronze surgical and pharmaceutical tools are among the most important discoveries associated with the site.
Statues, figurines and dedications reveal the artistic and religious environment of the healing center.
Everyday objects help reconstruct domestic life, craft production and commerce at Allianoi.
Coins and written evidence help archaeologists date the settlement and understand its cultural connections.
Although Allianoi itself is submerged, the wider Bergama region contains several accessible places that help explain the area’s ancient history, religious traditions and medical importance.
Explore the monumental hilltop city, including its steep theatre, temples, terraces and remains of one of the ancient world’s great cultural capitals.
Discover the famous sanctuary of Asklepios, where sacred rituals, water, rest and ancient medical practices formed a celebrated healing tradition.
See one of Bergama’s most imposing Roman buildings, later transformed into an important early Christian complex.
View archaeological collections from Pergamon and the surrounding region, including material recovered during the Allianoi excavations.
Allianoi was famous for its monumental Roman thermal complex, naturally heated spring water and exceptional collection of ancient medical and surgical instruments. These discoveries identify it as one of the most important healing centers excavated in western Anatolia.
Allianoi was located at Paşa Ilıcası, approximately 18–20 km northeast of Bergama in İzmir Province, near the ancient city of Pergamon.
No. Allianoi is submerged beneath the Yortanlı Dam reservoir and does not operate as an open archaeological site or museum.
The Yortanlı Dam reservoir began filling in 2010, and the protected archaeological remains were under water by 2011.
Archaeologists found hundreds of medical and surgical instruments, suggesting that organized medical treatment took place beside the thermal baths. Scholars often describe the site as an ancient medical center or hospital-like complex, although its exact institutional structure remains debated.
Finds recovered during the rescue excavations are preserved at Bergama Museum, where selected Allianoi material may be displayed.
Allianoi combines monumental Roman spa architecture with rare evidence for surgery, pharmacy, religious healing and long-term settlement. Its submergence also made it a major case in international discussions about cultural heritage preservation.
Because the site is no longer visible, historical photographs, excavation plans, museum objects and academic publications are essential for understanding Allianoi. Images taken before submergence preserve views of marble-lined pools, standing columns, streets, bridges and rooms that now remain hidden beneath the reservoir.
Images of flooded marble halls and standing columns became the most recognizable visual record of Allianoi.
Site plans reveal the full relationship between baths, streets, buildings, bridges and religious spaces.
Published collections allow specialists to study the tools used by ancient physicians and pharmacists.
Preserved artifacts provide the most direct physical connection with the submerged settlement.
Allianoi remains unforgettable not only because of what archaeologists found, but also because of what can no longer be experienced directly. Its thermal halls, medical tools and sacred healing traditions reveal an advanced Roman center where water, medicine, religion and architecture came together in an exceptional way.
The site’s disappearance beneath the reservoir transformed Allianoi into a symbol. It reminds us that archaeology is not only about uncovering the past; it is also about deciding how that past will be documented, protected and passed to future generations.
A major Roman thermal and medical center in the cultural landscape of Pergamon
An exceptional concentration of medical instruments beside a monumental healing complex
The archaeological structures remain submerged and are not open to visitors
A powerful case study in ancient medicine and cultural heritage preservation