Frigidarium
Location: Viminal, the smallest hill of the Seven Hills of Rome, inside the Agger of the Servian Wall.
Date: Built between 290 to 306 AD
Ruler: Demanded under the reign of Emperor Maximian, built under the reign of Emperor Constantius, and dedicated to Emperor Diocletian.
Description: This frigidarium was part of a thermae which was a public bath. The size of the bath was larger than the ones found in a balneae which is a private bath. It described as having a lot of niches to allow people to sit down comfortably as well as grand statues. Of course, the factors can not be seen in this picture unfortunately.
Baths of Caracalla (Thermae)
Location: Located in the southeast of the ancient Rome center which was located in the famous Seven Hills of Rome.
Date: Built between 212 and 216 AD.
Ruler: Built under the reign of Emperor Caracalla (Marcus Aurelius Antonius)
Baths of Trajan*
Date: Built between 104 to 109 AD.
Ruler: Built under the reign of Emperor Trajan.
*There was the presence of both type of baths.
ATRIUM
Passing through the principal entrance, (a), which is removed from the street by a narrow footway surrounding the building and after descending three steps, the bather finds a small chamber on his left (x) which contained a water closet (latrina) (BLOG enter example and details in BLOG), and proceeds into a covered portico (g, g), which ran round three sides of an open court (atrium, A). These together formed the vestibule of the baths (vestibulum balnearum), in which the servants waited.
Latriana
This is the Roman version of a toilet. In ancient times, they would all go to the bathroom publically. They would sit on one of the hole that had been made specifically for that purpose to do whatever they needed to do. To clean themselves after they finished a servant was left waiting by them to hand over a cloth so that they could clean themselves.
USE OF THE ATRIUM
This atrium was the exercise ground for the young men, or perhaps served as a promenade for visitors to the baths. Within this court the keeper of the baths (balneator), who exacted the quadrans (BLOG Roman coin) paid by each visitor, was also stationed. The room f, which runs back from the portico, might have been appropriated to him; but most probably it was an oecus or exedra, for the convenience of the better classes while awaiting the return of their acquaintances from the interior. In this court, advertisements for the theatre (BLOG), or other announcements of general interest, were posted up, one of which, announcing a gladiatorial show, still remains. At the sides of the entrance were stone seats (scholae).
Roman coins
The Romans had invented a currency system to many their growing economy in the 3rd century BC. The used gold, silver, copper, and bronze to make their coins. The size of the coins did not truly matter rather they regarded with what material they were made of and which head had been used. The head of the ruling emperors were carved into one side of the coins which showcased the power the ruler had. One of these rulers had been Alexander the Great who is rumour to have been the first to use to system.
Theatre
The Romans loved entertainment which is why the built so many monument for that sole purpose. A theatre could even be found in a bath house. The purpose of a bath house was to give an place for the citizens to be able to relax, have meetings, and/or take a bath. A theatre was just one more thing to help them relax.
APODYTERIUM AND FRIGIDARIUM
A passage (e) leads into the apodyterium (FIND: B), a room for undressing in which all visitors must have met before entering the baths proper. Here, the bathers removed their clothing, which was taken in charge by slaves known as capsarii, notorious in ancient times for their dishonesty. The apodyterium was a spacious chamber, with stone seats along two sides of the wall (h, h). Holes are still visible on the walls, and probably mark the places where the pegs for the bathers' clothes were set. The chamber was lighted by a glass window, and had six doors. One of these led to the tepidarium (FIND: D) and another to the frigidarium (FIND: C), with its cold plunge-bath (referred to as loutron, natatio, natatorium, piscina, baptisterium or puteus; the terms "natatio" and "natatorium" suggest that some of those baths were also swimming pools). The bath in this chamber is of white marble, approached by two marble steps.
TEPIDARIUM
From the frigidarium the bather who wished to go through the warm bath and sweating process entered the tepidarium. It did not contain water either at Pompeii or at the baths of Hippias, but was merely heated with warm air of an agreeable temperature, in order to prepare the body for the great heat of the vapour and warm baths, and, upon returning, to prevent a too-sudden transition to the open air. In the baths at Pompeii this chamber also served as an apodyterium for those who took the warm bath. The walls feature a number of separate compartments or recesses for receiving the garments when taken off. The compartments are divided from each other by figures of the kind called Atlantes or Telamones, which project from the walls and support a rich cornice above them. Three bronze benches were also found in the room, which was heated as well by its contiguity to the hypocaust of the adjoining chamber, as by a brazier of bronze (foculus), in which the charcoal ashes were still remaining when the excavation was made. Sitting and perspiring beside such a brazier was called ad flammam sudare.
USE OF THE TEPIDARIUM
The tepidarium is generally the most highly ornamented room in baths. It was merely a room to sit in and be anointed in. In the Old Baths at Pompeii the floor is mosaic, the arched ceiling adorned with stucco and painting on a coloured ground, the walls red. Anointing was performed by slaves called unctores and aliptae. It sometimes took place before going to the hot bath, and sometimes after the cold bath, before putting on the clothes, in order to check the perspiration. Some baths had a special room (destrictarium or unctorium) for this purpose.
CALDARIUM
From the tepidarium a door opened into the caldarium (FIND: E), whose mosaic floor was directly above the furnace or hypocaust. Its walls also were hollow, forming a great flue filled with heated air. At one end was around basin (labrum), and at the other a quadrangular bathing place (puleo's, alveus, solium, calida piscina), approached from the platform (schola) by steps. The labrum held cold water, for pouring upon the bather's head before he left the room. These basins are of marble in the Old Baths, but we hear of alvei of solid silver. Because of the great heat of the room, the caldarium was but slightly ornamented.
LACONICUM
The Old Baths have no laconicum, which was a chamber still hotter than the caldarium, and used simply as a sweating-room, having no bath. It was said to have been introduced at Rome by Agrippa and was also called sudatorium and assa.
SERVICE AREAS
The apodyterium has a passage (q) communicating with the mouth of the furnace (r), called praefurnium or propigneum; and, passing down that passage, we reach the chamber M, into which the praefurnium projects, and which is entered from the street at c. It was assigned to the fornacatores, or persons in charge of the fires. Of its two staircases, one leads to the roof of the baths, and one to the boilers containing the water. There were three boilers, one of which (caldarium vas) held the hot water; a second, the tepid (tepidarium); and the third, the cold (frigidarium). The warm water was turned into the warm bath by a pipe through the wall, marked on the plan. Underneath the hot chamber was set the circular furnace d, of more than 7 ft. in diameter, which heated the water and poured hot air into the hollow cells of the hypocaustum (BLOG). It passed from the furnace under the first and last of the caldrons by two flues, which are marked on the plan. The boiler containing hot water was placed immediately over the furnace; and, as the water was drawn out from there, it was supplied from the next, the tepidarium, which was raised a little higher and stood a little way off from the furnace. It was already considerably heated from its contiguity to the furnace and the hypocaust below it, so that it supplied the deficiency of the former without materially diminishing its temperature; and the vacuum in this last was again filled up from the farthest removed, which contained the cold water received directly from the square reservoir seen behind them. The boilers themselves no longer remain, but the impressions which they have left in the mortar in which they were imbedded are clearly visible, and enable us to determine their respective positions and dimensions. Such coppers or boilers appear to have been called miliaria, from their similarity of shape to a milestone (BLOG Roman milestone on a road). Behind the boilers, another corridor leads into the court or atrium (FIND: K) appropriated to the servants of the bath.
Hypocaustum
This was a underfloor heating system that was used to heat up bathhouses and other places. They stacked up a pile of concrete which is a good material that can keep the heat inside for a very long time. There were hole in the room to allow the hot air to circulate freely.
Roman milestone on a road
To built their roads the Roman needed a material that was both easy to make but strong enough so that it will last for years on end. They decided to use milestones which was a Roman creation. This type of stone was made of volcanic ashes, limestones and cobbles.
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