All About Baths

            Baths were everywhere today!  When we walked through Ostia Antica, Tom, our wonderful docent, frequently pointed out the baths and bathrooms. Yes, he did explain about shops and the important buildings but the topic always went back to the baths.

            Before we reached Ostia Antica, Tom was already explaining to us that there were public open baths in Ostia. There were also private baths where people had to pay to use them; however, the public baths seem to be pretty scandalous. There were guidelines where women had to bathe in the morning while men in the evening. In my perspective, splitting the baths up like that was smart. But no, the people ignored that rule and just started bathing together! You can just guess what went on in there? 

          We walked through the theater, shops and then continued to see many more baths.  Tom kept on pointing those out. There was a summer bath in the area very close to the theater and right next door was a winter bath. Then, beside the winter bath was the Sauna.  In this area, the floors were designed to capture the heat radiating from the sun so that the baths were able to be warmed up. However, the slaves who were underneath these baths in Ostia would heat up the baths through the underground tunnels. The bathrooms were similar to the baths because they were also a very public thing. Built on marble where holes opened up for the people to dispense their wastes was evident in the ruins. What was really interesting to learn was that people using the bathroom would socialize and musicians would also play for money. The good thing, as Tom explained, was that the bathrooms were constantly washed out by the water system that flowed through so it would not stink.

         

       Today was an interesting day to learn all about baths and bathrooms. Ostia Antica was a place full of ruins that is both beautiful and artistic. The baths can definitely be called an art because of their unique construction.

-Susan