Roman Baths

By Andrew Beaulieu

Who built the baths

• Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus built the famous Bath of Caracalla.

• He is better known by his nickname Caracalla.• Emperor Marcus Ulpius Nerva Traianus Built

the Trajan Bathhouse.• Built so citizens could stay clean.

Statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus who built the Baths of Caracalla

Function of the Baths

• Used to wash yourself after exercise or before a meal.

• Social meeting place.• Used to relax after long day of work.• Place of entertainment. • Restaurant/bar.

Who went to the Baths

• Almost everyone went to the baths.• Men, women, infants, elderly, slaves and

freemen all used the bathhouses.• Rich citizens, even those who had their own

private baths, sometimes went to the bathhouse.

• Occasionally even the emperor would go to the bathhouse.

Activities

• Clean yourself.• Relax.• Talk with friends.• Eat meals.• Drink wine.• Entertain yourself.

Heated Baths

• Rooms like the Caldarium (Hot Bath) required a form of heating.

• Romans used The Hypocaust, an underground furnace, to heat water and air through the floor.

• The Hypocaust was stoked by slaves.• Heated water in a tank which was then moved

through pipes to the appropriate bath.

Design of the baths

Bathhouse at Pompeii

Palaestra-Exercise YardApodyterium-Dressing RoomsFrigidarium-Cold BathCaldarium-Hot BathTepidarium-Warm Room(Sauna)

Pictures

Ancient baths in the Roman Baths in Bath, England.

Remaining Baths

• Baths of Caracalla. (Italy)• Baths of Agrippa. (Italy)• Baths of Titus. (Italy)• Baths of Trajan. (Italy)• Roman Baths. (England)

Baths of Caracalla in Italy.

Roman Baths in Bath, located within Somerset in the United Kingdom.

Modern-day Bathhouses

• Roman baths can be compared to community centers today.

• Swimming pools.• Entertainment.• Food/Drink.• Meet with others.

Sources• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BathsOfCaracalla.jpg• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_remains_of_Roman_public_baths• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/day.html• http://www.crystalinks.com/romebaths.html• http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/texts/secondary/SMIGRA

*/Balneae.html• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermae#Remains_of_Roman_public_baths• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Baths_(Bath)• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Somerset_UK_location_map.svg• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/40.11.1a• http://richellemehlhaff.blogspot.com/• http://www.old-picture.com/europe/Circular-Abbey-Roman-Baths.htm• http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/bathbaths/bathbaths.html