On Friday we visited The Baths of Caracalla. Construction on the baths was started around 212 A.D. by Septimius Severus and completed by his son, Caracalla, around 216 A.D. For the Romans public baths were an integral part of their lives. Not only were they used for bathing but they were an important component of Roman social life.
The Baths of Caracalla were built on an enormous scale and were the second largest public baths after those constructed by Diocletian. (The Baths of Diocletian were converted into “The Church with the Hole in It” – see previous post.) The complex covered more than 27 acres. The pools alone could hold more than 1,600 people at the same time.
The buildings included an olympic size swimming pool, a cold pool, tepid pool, a hot pool, dressing rooms, gyms, libraries, theaters and gardens. The walls were decorated with marble and frescos. The buildings contained hundreds of marble and bronze statues and the floors were made of intricate mosaics.
(Mosaic floor for one of the pools. Imagine how it would have looked underwater.)
The site was in full operation until the 6th century. Remnants of the mosaic flooring can be seen as well as the olympic size swimming pool. The rest of the complex is mostly ruin.
(The gardens with the ruins in the background)
Some of the underground portion of the complex has been excavated and it is open to the public. It consists mostly of enormous tunnels with vaulted ceilings that are several stories high and were wide enough for several wagon loads of supples at a time.
The tunnels ran the entire length of the complex. They were used to bring in wagonloads of firewood to heat the pools. They also contained the pipes that carried the water for the pools and fountains and they allowed all areas of the complex to be serviced. A new aqueduct was built in order to supply the complex with enough water for all of its needs.
(One of the underground tunnels. They’re much larger than this picture would suggest.)