Roman Baths

  • The Roman Baths or Thermae was part of the fabric of Roman social life and was at the heart of Roman Civilisation. The great Public Baths were centres of entertainment.
  • Bathing and attending was a social ritual which took several hours. The architecture of Public Baths were designed to impress and reinforce Roman Civilisation both in Rome and throughout the Provinces of the Roman Empire.

Ownership, Charges and Opening Hours

  • There were two types of Public Baths:
    • The large Public Baths, ‘Thermae’, capable of holding hundreds or thousands of people, were owned by the State, and staffed by Slaves.
    • Smaller Public Baths, ‘Balneae’, were privately owned, but operated under contract to the State.
  • Charges:
    • Men: 1/4 of an ‘As’
    • Women: 1/2 of an ‘As’. Children were free.
  • Opening Hours:
    • A bell announced the opening of the Public Baths. In small Public Baths, men and women were allowed in at different times:
    • Women were usually admitted in the morning until midday.
    • Men were admitted in the afternoons.
  • Frequency of visits:
  • Separation of Men and Women
    • Roman Republic
      • Large Public Baths (Thermae) had three entrances, one for men, another for women and a third for the Slaves accompanying the wealthy. The larger Baths were divided into two, one side for men and the other for women.
    • Roman Empire
      • From the first century CE onwards, the Public Baths changed from segregated bathing to mixed bathing, and bathers probably started wearing light garments.

The Bathing Ritual

  • Some Public Baths, such as the Baths of Diocletian could hold up to 3,000 people, whilst the Baths of Caracalla could hold 1,600 people.
    •  The Entrance:
      • The Bather first charged a small entrance fee.
    • Apodyterium:
      • They then left their clothes in this room with an attendant, and went naked into the Baths during the Roman Republic.
    • Palaestra:
      • Part of the entrance, this was an outdoor courtyard, often with a swimming pool, for relaxing and doing exercises in, usually surrounded by a colonnade.
      • The Bather could exercise first, lifting weights, running, swimming or playing ball games, until he had worked up a sweat.
    • Frigidarium:
      • This was the first Room. A cold room with a cold water pool for swimming.
    • Tepidarium:
      • This was the main central hall or Great Hall from which all other Rooms adjoined. All the other rooms could be reached from the Tepidarium.
      • It was a pleasantly warm room with heated floors and walls. It had no water and was where oiling and massages took place.
    • Caldarium:
      • The hottest room with a hot water pool. Wooden sandals were provided to protect the feet from the very hot floor. Here the bathers worked up a sweat. Pools of cool water were provided for bathers to splash over and cool off briefly.
      • Underneath the Caldarium was the Praefurnium or Furnace.
    • Laconicum:
      • The dry room. This room was for sweating and resting, like in a modern sauna, to complete the process. It was often attached to the Caldarium.
    • Tepidarium:
      • Back to the warm room to cool down, and then be oiled and scraped.
      • Olive Oil, often scented, would then be rubbed into the skin and scraped off by a Slave using a Strigil (Scraper).
      • Followed by a massage given by a professional masseuse.
    • Frigidarium:
      • Back to the cold room. A dip in the cold pool closed the pores.

After the Bathing Ritual was complete

  • In the larger Bath Houses, bathers could stay to relax and be entertained.
    • The Main Pool: after bathing, Bathers could swim here or just sit around and socialise with the other bathers, and catch up with the news.
    • Shops: There would be shops where the bathers could buy food and perfumed oils.
    • Libraries: the larger Baths had libraries where bathers could read books in Reading Rooms.
    • Racetracks and Theatres: Some Bath Houses had racetracks for sporting events while others had theatres for recitals and plays.

The Water Supply

  • Large Roman Public Baths
  • Private Villas
    • They used the water from a local stream or river, which was collected into a Cistern, then piped into the boiler room. Sometimes they used a nearby natural Spring, such as at Chedworth Roman Villa.

Heating the Baths

  • The Hypocaust:
    • The floors were raised on pillars, to allow the hot air to circulate underneath them.
  • The Walls:
    • These had hollow flues through which hot air rose up from below.
  • The Praefurnium or Furnace:
    • This was kept burning by Slaves. The Calderium was above the Furnace making it the hottest room. Hot air then circulated under the Hypocausts and up the walls of the Tepidarium, and then the Frigidarium, which was the coolest room because it was the farthest away.

Design of the Larger Baths (Thermae):

  • Tepidarium (Great Hall)
    • This was the Great Hall from which all other Rooms adjoined. It was highly decorated and often contained statues or other works of art.
    • It had a high vaulted roof with clerestory semicircular windows to flood the hall with daylight.
    • The Baths of Diocletian (306 CE) have high barrel vaulted rooves, which create an airy, cathedral-like space.
  • Floors
    • The Thermae had marble lined pools, floor Mosaics and silver faucets.
  • Palaestra (Garden)
    • The garden would have marble colonnades.
  • Walls
    • These would be of stucco, with scenes painted upon them.
  • Ceilings
    • These would also have paintings of scenes from mythology.
  • Public Latrines
    • These were extensive and would be provided with marble seats and running water underneath, and sponges on sticks provided for guests to clean themselves.

Location of Roman Public Baths

1. Hot Springs

    • Roman Public Baths were often located at natural Hot Springs like modern Spas:
    • Italia:
      • Saturnia Hot Springs. Known to the Romans as ‘Aurinia’ and dedicated to Saturn, the Spring is located between Rome and Siena.
    • Britannia:
      • Bath: The Public Baths of Aqua Sulis
      • Buxton: Public Baths
    • Pannonia Inferior:
      • Budapest (Aquincum) Hungary: Public Baths
    • Gallia Belgica:
      • Aachen (Aix-La-Chapelle) Germany: Public Baths ‘Aquae Granni’

2. Cities

3. Villas

4. Legionary Fortresses

 

Baths of Diocletian, Rome

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