Awesome Ancient Roman Baths Facts That You Probably Didn T Know

The Roman baths were not like the ones that we use today.We tend to think of the people of the past as stinky and unsanitary, but the Romans were fastidious about their bath routine. The Roman baths were a big deal!There were over 900 of them in Rome. The largest of the public baths covered multiple city blocks and could fit over 3,000 bathers! Sometimes you might score lifetime access to private baths in a rich relative’s will.If you have lived in a big city, it will come as no surprise that all those people living so close together make sanitation a major government concern. The answer for a Roman city was giant public baths!A Roman bath was a very important part of everyday life in the Roman world. Not every ancient culture thought of bathing in the way the Romans did. This act in ancient Rome was communal, meaning everyone bathed together. That might sound weird, and you might be picturing a bunch of people squished into a bathtub. That is not how it worked, though.A Roman bath house had multiple rooms and pools inside of a very large building. Going for a Roman bath was for more than just getting clean as people went to a public bath to visit with their friends, relax, exercise, and learn. Everyone from the elite to the non-elite bathed daily in a public bath, including women, men, and children. So those Romans were probably not as smelly as you would think!If you have found this page interesting and want to enhance your understanding of other ancient societies, check out ancient Greece facts and ancient Indian facts.Who built the Roman baths?What comes to your mind when you look at large monuments and landmarks in your cities? Don’t they bring back memories of the people who built them or for whom they have been built? Powerful men and women have always wanted to showcase their power and influence commoners by erecting grand structures. It really should not come as a surprise when we tell you that in ancient Rome too, emperors and influential men built most of the baths. Most of these places charged a very nominal entrance fee.Among the earliest of the baths in ancient Rome was the Campus Martius baths. They were built on the orders of the most important general of Octavian Caesar, Marcus Agrippa.One of the largest baths of ancient Rome was the Baths of Emperor Caracalla, which were built between 211-216 AD, about 1,700 years ago! The baths were used until the 6th century AD when the aqueducts of the city of Rome were destroyed by invading forces.The Baths of Caracalla had high ceilings and large archways, which would have been incredibly beautiful, luxurious, and stunning. It had large courtyard gymnasiums as well.Each city within the Roman Empire had a bath house called thermae or balneae. ‘Thermae’ is a Latin term used by the Romans to describe a large bath house, and a ‘balneae’ was used to describe private baths. Thousands of people would pass through them every day.Close your eyes and try to imagine what it was like living in large cities during Roman times 1,500 years ago. Don’t just imagine the sights and sounds, but also the different aromas and smells of the bath houses!How were Roman baths heated?The most impressive element of Roman bath houses was the heating system. The system used for the heating of the warm room of bath complexes was called the hypocaust system.The heat to warm the water and the air in the baths complex was created by a wood-burning furnace. The hot air was then directed from the furnace to an open space below the floors, which were raised above the ground on short pillars so that the air could circulate throughout the entire place and make it a hot room. The warm air was then pushed through clay pipes hidden behind the walls of the room, which heated the room as the hot air moved around.Did you know that a Roman bath complex had indoor plumbing too? If water was not available for bathing from natural springs present near the site, it had to be brought to the bath complex using an aqueduct system that the Romans developed to transfer water from one place to another. The water used to fill the pools entered the bath house complexes from an attached aqueduct. Fresh water was stored in a water tank and was controlled from the pump room. Romans famously employed a system of aqueducts to provide running water. Sometimes spring water from natural wonders such as a nearby hot spring was brought directly to the bathhouses via lead pipes.What is an aqueduct? An aqueduct is one of the many impressive pieces of Roman architecture. It is an above-ground or underground pipe system that carried water from a water source like a lake or hot springs into the city.What were Roman baths used for?Taking a bath in ancient Rome was not as simple as it is today. This is because the Romans had many steps to cleaning themselves that were as much about relaxing as they were about cleanliness.There were many different pools and swimming pools within the great bath buildings, and there was a certain order for using them. You would begin by removing your clothes in a changing room and putting on wooden shoes. Then you would proceed to the caldarium or the hot bath-room. You would remain there to open up your pores; then you would go to the tepidarium, the warm bath; and then the frigidarium, the cold bath; to close up your pores again. After the cold bath, you could go for a leisurely dip in the large swimming pool called the natatio or back to the caldarium for an extra hot cleanse. The hot rooms of the caldarium were usually quite large, and so was the frigidarium, but the tepidarium was usually a smaller room. The Romans believed that this order of bathing with warm water, hot water, and cold water would keep them healthy and refreshed.In addition to indulging themselves in different temperatures at the larger baths, Romans received massages and olive oil treatments. The Romans wanted to be thoroughly clean, but instead of soap, they covered their bodies in olive oil, which was then scraped off by a dull bronze tool called a strigil, which would be done by slaves. This step exfoliated their skin and ensured that they were squeaky clean.Many Roman baths offered other services too, and people could often play ball games. A game called trigon was played with three balls. All these turned a visit to the bath house into a total spa experience!What were Roman baths made of?The bath complexes were made of concrete and brick, and some were immensely grand, like the Baths of Caracalla. Not all bath complexes were the same, as each differed in layout and design, with some having a second floor, and they varied in size depending on the population of the city they were in.The insides and outsides of these structures were usually decorated. Beautiful art could be found on the walls and floors throughout the complexes and in all the rooms, like mosaics and frescoes, as well as statues. Animals, plants, mythical creatures, and Roman gods could be found in the decorations throughout the baths. There were beautiful glass ceilings, mirrors on the walls, and smooth marble-lined pools.What can you remember about Roman baths from the information you have acquired? When it comes to understanding history, nothing beats first-hand experience. Pack your bags and set sail for Rome on your next vacation!Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for ancient Roman baths facts, then why not take a look at ancient Japan facts or ancient Mayan facts?

The Roman baths were not like the ones that we use today.