The changing room in the Pompeii bath complex (Photo: Archaeological Park of Pompeii Press Office).
Nearly 2,000 years since the devastating eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE, archaeologists are still unearthing insightful remnants. Though two-thirds of Pompeii were destroyed, the swaths of ash from the volcano meticulously preserved the city, offering archaeologists countless insights into Roman culture and civilization. Now, the recent excavation of a private Pompeiian spa provides another indelible glimpse into the past.
The thermal bath complex was unearthed in a household in Regio IX, a large district at the center of Pompeii and home to countless archaeological projects. According to Dr. Gabriel Zuchtriegel, the director of the Pompeii archaeological park, the bath could be the “largest thermal complex in a private house in Pompeii.”
Attached to the home’s luxurious banquet hall, the spa is composed of several rooms, including a calidarium (hot room), tepidarium (warm room), and frigidarium (cold room). The complex also features an apodyterium, or changing room, that could accommodate up to 30 guests based on the number of discovered benches.
For those fortunate enough to visit the spa, the experience would prove exquisite. The apodyterium boasted red walls alongside a stunning mosaic floor inlaid with marble. After undressing, guests would enter the calidarium, refreshing themselves in the sauna-like atmosphere before heading to the tepidarium for a relaxing bath.
Guests would finally conclude their bathing with the frigidarium, arguably the most impressive section of the entire spa complex. The cold room consists of a porticoed courtyard decorated with lavish frescoes, along with a large plunge pool in its center. As with the changing room, this basin is believed to have a capacity of 20 to 30 people.
“In the hot summers, you could sit with your feet in the water, chatting with your friends, maybe enjoying a cup of wine,” Dr. Zuchtriegel tells the BBC.
The decadence of this bath complex isn’t lost to archaeologists. Given its proximity to the banquet hall, researchers hypothesize that the home belonged to an elite member of Pompeii’s local society and that its owner used these grand amenities to ingratiate themselves with their guests.
“The direct connection between the baths to the large gathering hall suggests how the Roman house lent itself to being a real stage for the celebration of sumptuous banquets,” Pompeii Archaeological Park writes in a statement. “They were occasions for the owner to garner the electoral support of his guests, to promote the candidature of friends or relatives, or simply to flaunt their own social status.”
The spa complex, then, fulfilled a myriad of goals, whether it be showcasing social status or generating approval and potential allegiance from important guests.
“Not everyone had this level of luxury,” Dr. Zuchtriegel mentions in The New York Times.
To learn more about Pompeii’s archaeological initiatives, visit the Archaeological Park of Pompeii website.
A recent excavation in Pompeii uncovered one of the largest and most luxurious bath complexes in the city.
The Pompeii bath complex includes several rooms, each of which were decorated lavishly.
The home in which the complex is located is believed to have been owned by an elite member of local society.
Researchers hypothesize that the bath complex served a social and political function, allowing the home’s owner to display social status while also ingratiating themselves to their guests.
All images via the Archaeological Park of Pompeii Press Office.
Sources: One of the largest private bath complexes ever to be discovered, adjoining a banqueting room, has been brought to light during the excavations of Regio IXin Pompeii; New Pompeii excavation reveals a large private thermal complex built 2,000 years ago; ‘Once-in-a-century’ discovery reveals spectacular luxury of Pompeii
Related Articles:
Pompeii Excavations Turn Up Prison Bakery Run by Enslaved Labor
New Well-Preserved Paintings Discovered at Pompeii Amid Ongoing Excavations
Archeologists Discover “Tiny Home” in Pompeii Filled With Well-Preserved Frescoes