A villa dating back to the late Roman era has been unearthed in the ancient city of Laodicea, located close to the Aegean village of Eskihisar, announced Associate Professor Celal Simsek, head of excavations at the site.

Simsek, of Pamukkale University, said the villa had been unearthed near a railway line to the south of the ancient city, reported the Anatolia news agency.

Illegal excavations had been carried out in the region some time ago, added S,ims,ek, and his team of archaeologists were able to make out some mosaics through the resulting hole. "Therefore, we launched excavations in this area, although it's not a part of our program. And we discovered a villa there," he stated.

The courtyard of the villa contains mosaics, and these along with other factors suggest that the villa, situated in the Lycus Valley, might have belonged to a rich farmer. Simsekalso said broken pieces of glass were found in the villa. "A part of this building might have been used as a glassware workshop," he proposed.

Laodicea is situated south of the Lycus River, six kilometers north of Denizli. Some ancient sources say the city was called "Laodikeia" meaning "on the side of the Lycus." According to others, the city was founded by Antiochos II in 263-261 B.C. and named after his wife.

The city was at its most famous and important in the first century B.C., with most of the remains of the city dating from this era. Coins were minted in Laodicea during the reign of Roman Emperor Caracalla. Many monumental buildings were also constructed via donations from local residents. One of the famous seven churches mentioned in Revelations was located in Laodicea, which shows that Christianity became widespread here in later years. Laodicea was eventually almost completely destroyed by an earthquake and subsequently abandoned.

Two theaters of different sizes, a stadium and gymnasium, a nypheum, council building, a temple to Zeus and the large church mentioned above are the most notable ruins in the ancient city.