Water will run down from the Antonine Nymphaeum, a monumental fountain located on the north of the ancient city of Sagalassos near Aglasun town of the southwestern Turkish province of Burdur, after some 1300 years.

In an exclusive interview with the A.A, Semih Ercan said on Friday that restoration works on the fountain dated to the reign of Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 161-180) were expected to finish in 2010.

Ercan, who heads the restoration works, said, "the fountain with a height of 10 meters and width of 30 meters, is one of the most splendid structures in the ancient city. It was rebuilt after the massive earthquake in the early sixth century CE. But the second quake around the middle of the seventh century destroy the monumental fountain together with the whole city. Remains of the fountain was first brought to light by Prof. Dr. Marc Waelkens of the Belgian Katholieke Universiteit Leuven."

"We are restoring the fountain by joining together some 3,500 broken pieces. Restoration works will end in 2010 and water will run down from the ancient fountain again after some 1300 years," he said.

Sagalassos is an archaeological site in southwestern Turkey. In Roman Imperial times, the town was known as the 'first city of Pisidia'. The urban site was laid out on various terraces at an altitude between 1400 and 1600 m. Inhabitants were forced to abandon their city after a devastating earthquake around the middle of the seventh century.

Large-scale excavations started in 1990 under the direction of Waelkens. A large number of buildings, monuments and other archaeological remains have been exposed, documenting the monumental aspect of the Hellenistic, Roman and early Byzantine history of this town.