Contrasts of the Nordic Bronze Age
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Book Series
The Archaeology of Northern Europe, vol. 2
Bathing at the Edge of the Roman Empire
Baths and Bathing Habits in the North-Western Corner of Continental Europe
Sadi Maréchal
- Pages: approx. 290 p.
- Size:216 x 280 mm
- Illustrations:272 b/w, 30 col., 10 tables b/w., 10 maps b/w
- Language(s):English
- Publication Year:2023
- € 90,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-60066-6
- Paperback
- Forthcoming (Mar/23)
- € 90,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
- ISBN: 978-2-503-60067-3
- E-book
- Forthcoming
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Subject(s)
BIO
Sadi Maréchal, PhD (2016), Ghent University, is a postdoctoral researcher of the Research Foundation Flanders (FWO). His research interests include Roman architecture, private and public space and urban topography, with a specific interest in Roman baths and bathing habits
Summary
Roman bathhouses are considered to be prime markers when studying romanization in the provinces of the Empire, as these very specific — and archaeologically recognizable — buildings, together with their associated ideas about the body and personal health, introduced a decidely Roman habit into regions that had hitherto been unfamiliar with (communal) bathhouses and heating technology. While traditionally, studies into Roman baths and bathing have focused on large public baths in the citiesof the empire, however, those from the area that now roughly corresponds to modern-day Belgium have often been neglected in recent research as this was an area with few important urban centres.
This book for the first time investigates the introduction, spread, and eventual disappearance of Roman-style baths and of bathing habits in this north-western corner of the Roman Empire. A detailed analysis of the architecture, technology, and decoration of both public and private baths is combined with a discussion on the role of bathing in the area’s romanization, and supplemented by a fully illustrated catalogue of all bathhouses in the area of study. In doing so, the volume sheds new light not only on the evolution of baths and bathing in this region, but also on their broader role in larger historic processes such as cultural change across the Empire.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
Aims and Structure of the Book
Methodology
Geographical Framework
Chronological Framework
A Note on Names and Terminology
Chapter 1: Communal Baths — a Roman Phenomenon?
How Roman are Baths?
The Popularity of Roman Baths
Private Baths
A Special Case: Thermal Baths
The Spread of Roman Baths to the Provinces
Chapter 2: Earlier Research on Roman Bathing in the NW
The Research Tradition in the Roman North-West
North-Western Continental Europe in General Works on Roman Baths
Specific Studies on Baths in the Roman North-West
Chapter 3: The Roman Continental Northwest, a Blank Spot for Baths?
The Share of Public and Private Baths
Spread of the Baths throughout the civitates
Civitas Menapiorum
Civitas Nerviorum
Civitas Tungrorum
Chapter 4: The Architecture of the Baths
Typology
Public Baths
Military Baths
Private Baths
Recurring Plans
Size of the Baths
Rooms of the Baths
Palaestra
Apodyteria
Frigidaria
Tepidaria
Sudatoria/laconica
Caldaria
Praefurnia
Other Rooms
Wall Elevations, Vaulting and Roof Construction
General Remarks
Chapter 5: Technology of the Baths
Heating
The Furnaces
The Hypocaust
Wall Heating
Water Management
Water Supply
Waste Water Disposal
Chapter 6: Building Material and Decoration
Building Stone
Wood and Timber
Ceramic Building Materials
Marble and Other Decorative Stone
Mosaics
Wall Paintings
Other Decoration
Chapter 7: Bathing and Society
The Introduction of Bathhouses in the Continental North-West
Mobility of Ideas
Elite Self-fashioning and Intra-elite Competition
Accessibility and Social Exclusion
Conclusions
Catalogue
Appendices
Works Cited
Index