An Assessment on the Water Supply System of Sillyon Ancient City

Abstract

Sillyon, an important settlement in the region of Pamphylia, displays an urban development as per topography; its water supply system constitutes the scope of the present study. The quintessential element of life, as a fundamental supply and different from other natural resources, water has been exploited for political and social targets, apart from its economic value in the past and today. Based on this opinion, the water sources and structures of ancient Sillyon have been explored with an interdisciplinary approach within the frame of archaeology and hydrological engineering. The water structures attested in the city have been studied thoroughly and their approximate capacities have been calculated. Precipitation, temperature and humidity data of the city have been scrutinized and flooding occasions of the basin have been evaluated. Based on these data, various proposals have been made regarding the urbanistic fabric and city population of the city. It has been understood that the water structures at Sillyon were utilized in accordance with the continuing urban tradition, which had become traditional through the ages, that the morphological fabric of the territory was followed in the basis of the water supply system, and that a functional system was preferred rather than a regular planning. Nevertheless, an implementation not attested in other cities emerges at Sillyon, as that most of the water demand of the city was supplied from sources flowing at a certain altitude. It has been noted that these sources dictated the locations and volumes of important facilities such as Roman Bath, Nymphaeum A, Aquaeductus and Ottoman Fountain.