Baths
For the Romans, the baths were not only a way for cleaning, they were a very important part of social life, politics and economical activity. Romans went to the baths every day, and it is thought that they usually went in the afternoon and stayed there for quite a while. By AD79, there where three functioning public bath buildings in Pompeii; the Stabian baths, the Forum baths and the central baths, however some of the wealthier Pompeian houses had there own private baths. The central baths were still being built at the time of the eruption and the stabian baths were badly damaged by the AD62 earthquake, meaning only the women's quarters were functioning at the time of the eruption.
The baths are significant to us, as they show how Romans back in AD79 had the same wants and needs as we do to relax and socialise everyday. The significance of these baths is also how we can see from the restoration and excavation of the baths, how big a part of Roman life they actually were. From the excavations we can see that:
These baths had two entrances for men which led to an exercise area called a palaestra. After getting undressed in the changing room, the men could choose to either exercise or swim. In the palaestra, many games were played with the most popular being a type of bowling. After the men had exercised enough to work up a sweat, they went back into the changing rooms to be scraped with strigils and massaged until they felt like going into the baths. They would usually first walk through a shallow bath to clean their feet before entering a hot room. This room was to sweat, much like a sauna today, where the heat was so intense that they had to wear special shoes to protect their feet from the floor. After they had finished in the hot room, they went into a hot bath, followed by a cold ‘plunge bath’, and finally revisiting the hot room to sweat again. Before they left they were rubbed with oils to ‘protect them from the cold’
The women had their own separate quarters which could be reached by two corridors from either the west side or the east side. The women's quarters were originally completely separate from the mens baths, however a doorway was later installed from the palaestra to a the women's hall. The hall was most likely the women's exercise area, however archaeologists are unsure if it was the exercise area or a type of service room which was kept locked during the day. The women's quarters – in contrast to the mens baths – were found to be kept in excellent condition after the eruption.
At the baths, people could gossip, argue about politics, do business deals, play games, or exercise. There were also places to buy cakes and drinks if the visiter's got hungry.
From the baths, we can draw the conclusion that in many different ways, baths were the same as a community centre and that they played a vital part in Roman life in AD79. Since the process of bathing took so long, discussion was essential. Numerous Romans would utilise the baths as a way to invite their companions to supper parties, and politicians would go to the showers to persuade others to join their causes.
The baths are significant to us, as they show how Romans back in AD79 had the same wants and needs as we do to relax and socialise everyday. The significance of these baths is also how we can see from the restoration and excavation of the baths, how big a part of Roman life they actually were. From the excavations we can see that:
These baths had two entrances for men which led to an exercise area called a palaestra. After getting undressed in the changing room, the men could choose to either exercise or swim. In the palaestra, many games were played with the most popular being a type of bowling. After the men had exercised enough to work up a sweat, they went back into the changing rooms to be scraped with strigils and massaged until they felt like going into the baths. They would usually first walk through a shallow bath to clean their feet before entering a hot room. This room was to sweat, much like a sauna today, where the heat was so intense that they had to wear special shoes to protect their feet from the floor. After they had finished in the hot room, they went into a hot bath, followed by a cold ‘plunge bath’, and finally revisiting the hot room to sweat again. Before they left they were rubbed with oils to ‘protect them from the cold’
The women had their own separate quarters which could be reached by two corridors from either the west side or the east side. The women's quarters were originally completely separate from the mens baths, however a doorway was later installed from the palaestra to a the women's hall. The hall was most likely the women's exercise area, however archaeologists are unsure if it was the exercise area or a type of service room which was kept locked during the day. The women's quarters – in contrast to the mens baths – were found to be kept in excellent condition after the eruption.
At the baths, people could gossip, argue about politics, do business deals, play games, or exercise. There were also places to buy cakes and drinks if the visiter's got hungry.
From the baths, we can draw the conclusion that in many different ways, baths were the same as a community centre and that they played a vital part in Roman life in AD79. Since the process of bathing took so long, discussion was essential. Numerous Romans would utilise the baths as a way to invite their companions to supper parties, and politicians would go to the showers to persuade others to join their causes.
Mens baths Boiler room