Child footprints, dating back thousands of years, have been unearthed during excavations in the ancient city of Stratonikeia in western Türkiye.

Professor Bilal Söğüt, head of the Stratonikeia excavation, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that teams have carried out "fruitful" work in 2023 in the ancient city, located in the Yatağan district of Muğla province.

Söğut said they have made impressive efforts in the centennial of the republic, leading to numerous discoveries.

"We found footprints dating back nearly 1,900 years in the remains of a Roman period bath's upper cover. We even determined that these footprints, on the bricks used in the vault, belonged to three different 2- to 3-year-old children," noted Söğüt.

"In our previous works, we found different depictions on roof tiles and wall bricks, but for the first time, we came across such a footprint. These footprints were coming from different directions, and they were not all in the same direction. This, for us, is a positive development," he added.

Stratonikeia is called as the "City of Gladiators" and is listed on the UNESCO World Heritage temporary list.

It is also known as one of the world's largest marble cities. Excavation in the ancient city began in 1977.

The ancient city houses significant artifacts of the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine periods, as well as the Anatolian principalities, Ottoman and Republic eras.