Page:EB1911 - Volume 03.djvu/532

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BATHS
515

cold water—the water being poured longer over his head than on the rest of the body; next to be scraped with the strigil, and lastly to be rubbed and anointed.

The warmest of the heated rooms, i.e. the calidarium and laconicum, were heated directly from the hypocaustum, over which they were built or suspended (suspensura); while from the hypocaustum tubes of brass, or lead, or pottery carried the hot air or vapour to the walls of the other rooms. The walls were usually hollow, so that the hot air could readily circulate.

The water was heated ingeniously. Close to the furnace, about 4 in. off, was placed the calidarium, the copper (ahenum) for boiling water, near which, with the same interval between them, was the copper for warm water, the tepidarium, and at the distance of 2 ft. from this was the receptacle for cold water, or the frigidarium, often a plastered reservoir. A constant communication was kept up between these vessels, so that as fast as hot water was drawn off from the calidarium a supply was obtained from the tepidarium, which, being already heated, but slightly reduced the temperature of the hotter boiler. The tepidarium, again, was supplied from the frigidarium, and that from an aqueduct. In this way the heat which was not taken up by the first boiler passed on to the second, and instead of being wasted, helped to heat the second—a principle which has only lately been introduced into modern furnaces. In the case of the large thermae the water of an aqueduct was brought to the castellum or top of the building and was allowed to descend into chambers over the hypocaustum, where it was heated and transmitted in pipes to the central buildings. Remains of this arrangement are to be seen in the baths of Caracalla. The general plan of such buildings may be more clearly understood by the accompanying illustrations. In the well-known drawing (fig. 1) found in the baths of Titus, the name of each part of the building is inscribed on it. The small dome inscribed laconicum directly over the furnace, and having the clypeus over it, will be observed in the corner of the chamber named concamerata sudatio. The vessels for water are inscribed, according to their temperature, with the same names as some of the chambers, frigidarium, tepidarium and calidarium.

Fig. 1.—Roman baths.

The baths of Pompeii (as shown in fig. 2) were a double set, and were surrounded with tabernae or shops, which are marked by a lighter shade. There were streets on four sides; and the reservoir supplying water was across the street in the building on the left hand of the cut. There were three public entrances—21a, 21b, 21c—to the men’s baths and one to the women’s. The furnaces (9) heated water, which was conveyed on one side to the larger baths of the men, on the other to the women’s. Entering from the street at 21c there was a latrina on the left hand (22). From this entrance it was usual to proceed to a court (20) surrounded by pillars, where servants were in attendance. There is some doubt as to the purpose to which the room (19) was devoted. Leaving the hall a passage conducted to the apodyterium or dressing-room (17), at one end of it is the frigidarium, baptisterium or cold plunge bath (18). Entering out of the apodyterium is the tepidarium or warming-room (15), which most probably was also used as the alipterium or anointing-room. From it bathers passed into the hot room or calidarium (12), which had at one end the alveus or calida lavatio (13), at the other end the labrum (14). This end of the calidarium served as the laconicum. The arrangements of the women’s baths were similar, but on a smaller scale. The calidarium (5) had the labrum (7) at one end, and the alveus (6) was in one side of the room. The general arrangements of a calidarium are well illustrated by the accompanying section (fig. 3) of a bath discovered at Tusculum. The disposition of the parts is the same as at Pompeii. We here have the calidarium supported on the pillars of the fornax, the suspensura. The alveus (3) is at one end, and the labrum (4) at the other. (1) and (2) are the vessels for water over the fornax; and the passages in the roof and walls for the escape of heated air will be observed.

Fig. 2.—Ground plan of the baths of Pompeii.
Fig. 3.—Section of bath discovered at Tusculum, showing the calidarium (hot room).

A clear idea of the relative position of the different rooms, and some slight indication of their ornamentation, will be obtained from fig. 4. The flues under the calidarium and the labrum (1) may be observed, as also the opening in the roof above. (2), (3) and (4) mark the vessels for water which are placed between the men’s baths on the left and the women’s on the right.

The arrangements of the thermae were mainly those of the balneae on a larger scale. Some idea of their size may be gathered from such facts as these, that in the baths of Diocletian one room has been transmuted into a church of most imposing proportions,