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What is the history of the Roman bath?
Roman baths were an enormous part of life in ancient Rome. Roman baths were
housed in huge complexes including not only the bathing facilities, but also
a rotunda and large gardens decorated with elaborate sculptures and mosaics.
Most Romans would work in the morning, then head to a thermae, or public bath,
in the afternoon. Roman baths provided a spot not only for bathing and hygiene,
but also for leisure. Roman baths were a space where men of all classes, and
many women, could gather with friends, gossip, exercise, or even read.
Roman baths typically consisted of several rooms. For a bather, the first stop
was the unctuarium. Here, an attendant would rub oil on the bather’s skin. The
bather might then exercise in an nearby exercise yard. The next stop was the
tepidarium, or warm room, similar to what we today know as a sauna. Here, they
would lie comfortably and chat with friends. The next stop was the caldarium,
a hot and steamy room that would induce perspiration. In this room, an attendant
would scrape dead skin off the bather’s body with a curved metal tool called
a strigil. The last stop was a swim in the calidarium, or hot bath, followed
by a swim in the frigidarium, or cold bath. Finally, an attendant might massage
the bather and rub oils and perfumes into his skin.
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