Roman Baths
M.A. Anderson, 2006
Public Baths
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Existed in early Egyptian palaces
Greeks: bathing rooms in palace of Knossos from 1700 BC.
The Romans developed bathing to high degree of
sophistication
Roman baths were initially on a small scale: used simply for
cleansing after physical training exercises.
Balnea: private baths or neighborhood baths.
Their popularity lead to Thermae: public baths.
The Thermae: Public Bath
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Excavations at Olympia, (Hellenistic era) show:
From modest, functional buildings, with a cold pool, hot
slipper baths, and a steam bath, The thermae developed
into pleasure palaces.
Their role expanded from one of facilitating cleanliness to
one of making life as pleasant as possible.
The opulence of the Roman bath embodies the essence of
a culture that thrived on pleasure and leisure.
Roman Baths
By the early 500’s
A.D., there were
almost 900 baths in
Rome.
► Baths of Titus AD 81
► Baths of Domitian AD
95
► Trajan's Baths AD 100
► Baths of Caracalla AD
217
► Thermae of Diocletian;
capacity for 6,000
bathers
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Thermae
Trajan Bath
House
Some of the thermae were large enough to accommodate
thousands of bathers
► Roman baths were built wherever the Romans made
conquests.
► The imperial bathing establishment was repeated in its
essential form throughout the Roman Empire.
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The Roman Bath
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Communal bathing in public
facilities was an essential part of
Roman life.
It formed part of the daily
routine for all classes in Rome.
Cicero: “the gong that
announced the opening of the
public baths each day was a
sweeter sound, than the voices
of the philosophers in their
school”.
Much of daily Roman life
surrounded the thermae and a
good proportion of a citizen's
day would be spent there.
The Roman Bath
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Providing social and
recreational activities was
a basic responsibility for
Roman rulers and the
larger baths were owned
by the state.
They were frequently the
pet projects of the Roman
emperors, and, to ensure
their popularity, and the
emperor's notoriety,
entrance fees were kept to
the very minimum.
The Thermae
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The thermae were allencompassing establishments
acting as social, recreational,
and cultural centres.
The typical bath had a mosaic
of uses and served as a
community center,
restaurant, fitness center,
bar, and also as a
performance center, where a
juggler, a musician, or even a
philosopher might entertain.
The most likely time you
would have visited is in the
afternoon, as the Roman
workday for most ended by
noon.
Daily Routine
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The custom was to open
the bathhouses to
women during the early
part of the day and
reserve it for men from
2:00 pm until closing
time (usually sundown).
Republican bathhouses
often had separate
bathing facilities for
women and men.
• Mixed bathing is first recorded in the 1st century AD, but
was condemned by respectable citizens and prohibited by
the emperors Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius.
• Women who were concerned about their respectability
did not frequent the baths when the men were there, and
the baths were an excellent place for prostitutes to promote
their trade.
The Water Supply
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By the 3rd century A.D.
the Romans had built
many baths and had
acquired great skill in
designing functional, fully
integrated complexes.
The water supply and
drainage system, required
careful planning to ensure
an adequate flow to and
from the numerous hot
and cold basins.
• It is estimated that the baths used 15-20,000 cubic meters
of water per day.
• The baths were fed by a branch of the Aqua Marcia
aqueduct, which brought pure water to Rome from springs in
the hills near Subiaco, over 90 km away.
The Distribution System
The water flowed into
a huge cistern, divided
into 18 separate
chambers for easy
maintenance and with a
total capacity of 10,000
cu. m.
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here it went by gravity flow through pipes
underneath the gardens to the main building.
► Inside the main building a complicated distribution
system carried the water directly to the cold pools
or to boilers over wood fires where it was heated
for the warm and hot baths.
The Distribution System
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Outlets from each basin
and in the floor of each
room led to the drains,
which ran below the level
of the distribution pipes
and took the waste water
to the municipal drain in
the valley.
Both distribution and
drainage pipes were
housed in tunnels
providing easy access for
inspection and
maintenance.
Bath of Caracalla, Caldarium
with floor tiles removed.
Baths of Caracalla
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Caracalla opera
One of the most elegant and
massive Roman baths ever
built.
As late as the fifth century
A.D., over 200 years after it
was built, it still was ranked
as one of Rome's seven
wonders.
The Baths of Caracalla
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The Baths of Caracalla covered 27
acres and could accommodate
1,600 people at a time.
All would come: infants and
elderly, men and women, healthy
and ill, freemen and slaves, all of
whom often bathed naked and
together.
If you were there at the right
time, you might even share a bath
with the emperor himself.
Caracalla palastra
Apodyterium
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You enter the changing room.
It had cubicles or shelves where you could tuck away your
clothing and other belongings while you bathed.
Leaving belongings behind unprotected was a risk, of
course, for one of the most common visitors to the Roman
baths apparently was thieves.
Privately owned slaves, or one hired at the baths, called a
capsarius, would watch your belongings while you enjoyed
the pleasures of the baths.
Tepidarium
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Soap was a rare luxury for the
rich only so this was done instead
of using soap.
The place where "strigiling" often
took place.
In this room the Romans would
rub oils into their bodies.
They would use a scraper called a
strigil to scrape it off.
These were curved metal tools to
wipe oil, sweat and dirt.
This might have been done by
your own slave, if you had one,
or by one who worked at the
baths, if you could afford one.
Laconicum
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very hot and dry
room like a sauna.
Caldaraium
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Caldaraium Pompeii
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The hottest room of all
projected beyond the line of
the building to take full
advantage of the sun's rays.
Hollow terracotta tubes ran
inside the walls to provide
insulation and channel hot
air.
A very hot and steamy room,
like a modern Turkish bath.
The floors of these rooms
where heated by the
Hypocaust.
There were baths of hot
water sunk into the floor.
Caldarium
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At the Baths of Caracalla, the
room was 115 feet wide and
crowned with a concrete dome.
The hot water and steamy air
were designed to open your
pores, and water and air
temperatures may have risen
well above 100ºF, with 100%
humidity.
At the Baths of Caracalla, the
caldarium consisted of a large
hall that contained a large pool
a little over three feet deep.
If you had slaves attending you,
they might use a pouring dish
called a patara to refresh you
with cool water.
Hypocaust
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The system used for heating the
building and the pools.
The floor was raised off the
ground by pillars and spaces
were left inside the walls so that
hot air from the furnace could
circulate through these open
areas.
The furnace heated the air
drawn underneath the floor of
the caldarium to heat its tiles.
Hot air then rose up through
hollowed-out bricks that lined
the walls before exiting through
chimneys.
Rooms requiring the most heat
were placed closest to the
furnace, whose heat could be
increased by adding more wood.
Hypocaust
Large numbers of
people were, offered
an enclosed place
that was always
warm. At a time
when people had no
source of heat at
home, the baths
were a place to keep
warm.
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The warm air flows through wall ducts into the rooms at the baths and
quickly heats them.
In some baths the floors would be so hot that the bathers would have
to wear wooden sandals or clogs to stop their feet from being burnt.
The fires in the basement where stocked by slaves of the baths.
Frigidarium
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Now it's time to
close all the skin
pores that have
been opened. You
can do this by
plunging into the
frigidarium's cold
waters.
The dip is meant to
refresh and is often
the final bath.
Toilets / Latrines
• Romans were far less shy about
bodily functions than we are.
• Acts we consider private—
bathing and going to the toilet—
were done by the Romans in public
and without shame.
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Some privacy was provided by the Roman's loose togas,
since they were hiked up rather than pulled down.
Bathhouses had large public latrines, often with marble
seats over channels whose continuous flow of water
constituted the first “flush toilets.”
A shallow water channel in front of the seats was furnished
with sponges attached to sticks for patrons to wipe
themselves.
The Roman Bath
After their baths,
patrons could stroll in
the gardens, visit the
library, watch
performances of
jugglers or acrobats,
listen to a literary
recital, or buy a snack
from the many food
vendors.
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The philosopher Seneca complained that baths were noisy,
but attractive places.
Many ancient writers comment on the beauty and luxury
of the bathhouses, with their well-lighted, airy rooms with
high vaulted ceilings, lovely mosaics, paintings, colored
marble panels, and silver faucets and fittings.
Thermae – The Food Court
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The place to pick up a fast snack.
Good food from vendors (L) and the
amphora fridge for cold drinks (R).
Art
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The Baths were often adorned with dozens of brightly
painted, often gilded statues perched in wall niches.
Floors, walls, and columns were carved from a rainbow
assortment of colored marble imported from the far
corners of the Empire.
Paint and brightly colored stucco adorned bare stone and
walls.
Roofs and floors covered with glass mosaics glittered in
the sunlight that passed through holes in domed
chambers.
FINI