Roman Public Baths


	Roman Public Baths

The Baths of Caracalla
Rome, 212-217 CE

Baths were an integral part of Roman civilization -- even in remote parts of Empire. The huge and elaborate public baths that Emperor Caracalla constructed were the center of Roman social life and a triumph of engineering in the 3rd century CE. Occupying thirty-three acres on the outskirts of Rome, and accommodating as many as 1600 bathers, they were not only places for bathing and exercising, but places for business and entertainment -- poets even read their works there.
It is perhaps a telling commentary on the late stages of the Roman empire that instead of impressive temples dedicated to the gods, or monuments glorifying the Empire, the Romans built these gigantic baths, simply to contribute to leisure life.

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Aqueducts once fed thousands of gallons of water into the system of baths, and steam pipes beneath the floor heated the water. But today, only the shell survives -- the main bearing walls and massive piers of brick and concrete. Now outdoor concerts and operas are performed in the Baths of Caracalla.
Click here to see a more detailed plan.

Baths
Bath England, 150-300 CE

Like most Roman cities, the city of Bath, England had a complex of baths, built over hot springs, with an adjoining temple dedicated to Minerva. The hot springs were thought to be a sacred source of healing. The columns and the roof they supported have long since vanished but the blocks of stone on which the columns stood still remain. Smaller than baths in Rome and other large cities, the Great Bath measures 80' x 40' by 6' deep.

A small, circular pool was probably built for women and children.

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The water in the Great Bath came directly from the "sacred" hot springs through a lead-lined culvert. Another lead pipe lies exposed in the groove in the pavement along side the Great Bath, an example of state-of-the-art plumbing in the 1st century CE. (Note that the Latin word "plumbus," meaning lead, gives us the term plumber and plumbing.)
Although the Romans abandoned the site when the western Empire collapsed, the baths, with some additional architecture, were the haunt of English fashionable society in the 18th century. They came to Bath especially to drink the mineral water from the hot springs and, of course, to be seen in the famous Pump Room adjoining the baths.

All images marked ^MAS were photographed on location by Mary Ann Sullivan. All other images were scanned from other sources or downloaded from the World Wide Web; they are posted on this password-protected site for educational purposes, at Bluffton College only, under the "fair use" clause of U.S. copyright law.

Page maintained by Gerald W. Schlabach, gws@bluffton.edu. Last updated: 5 November 1997.

	The Baths of Caracalla Rome, 212-217 CE
	Baths were an integral part of Roman civilization -- even in remote parts of Empire. The huge and elaborate public baths that Emperor Caracalla constructed were the center of Roman social life and a triumph of engineering in the 3rd century CE. Occupying thirty-three acres on the outskirts of Rome, and accommodating as many as 1600 bathers, they were not only places for bathing and exercising, but places for business and entertainment -- poets even read their works there. It is perhaps a telling commentary on the late stages of the Roman empire that instead of impressive temples dedicated to the gods, or monuments glorifying the Empire, the Romans built these gigantic baths, simply to contribute to leisure life.
MAS MAS MAS	Aqueducts once fed thousands of gallons of water into the system of baths, and steam pipes beneath the floor heated the water. But today, only the shell survives -- the main bearing walls and massive piers of brick and concrete. Now outdoor concerts and operas are performed in the Baths of Caracalla. Click here to see a more detailed plan.
	Baths Bath England, 150-300 CE
	Like most Roman cities, the city of Bath, England had a complex of baths, built over hot springs, with an adjoining temple dedicated to Minerva. The hot springs were thought to be a sacred source of healing. The columns and the roof they supported have long since vanished but the blocks of stone on which the columns stood still remain. Smaller than baths in Rome and other large cities, the Great Bath measures 80' x 40' by 6' deep.
	A small, circular pool was probably built for women and children.
^MAS	The water in the Great Bath came directly from the "sacred" hot springs through a lead-lined culvert. Another lead pipe lies exposed in the groove in the pavement along side the Great Bath, an example of state-of-the-art plumbing in the 1st century CE. (Note that the Latin word "plumbus," meaning lead, gives us the term plumber and plumbing.) Although the Romans abandoned the site when the western Empire collapsed, the baths, with some additional architecture, were the haunt of English fashionable society in the 18th century. They came to Bath especially to drink the mineral water from the hot springs and, of course, to be seen in the famous Pump Room adjoining the baths.