Atrium of the Suburban Baths in Herculaneum.

A solid introduction.

The why, when and how of Roman bath buildings explored whilst building a fully-functioning Roman replica using ancient materials and methods. A fascinating programme from PBS' "Secrets of Lost Empire" series.

Some highlights include:

12 mins: plan of typical Roman bath.

13 mins: vaults & domes.

16 mins: concrete.

20 mins: hypocaust system.

33 mins: aqueducts.

38 mins: latrines.

Clip from the BBC series "What the Romans Did for Us" focusing on luxury. Roman Bathing is explored from 9.37 mins to 17.20 mins.

"A visit to the baths was one of the central social and physical distractions of Pompeii..." Extract from the book The Lost World of Pompeii courtesy of Google Books.

Aerial view with their location outlined in red.
- On this official map they are outlined in red too.

Key to the plan:

A - palaestra

B - vestibule

C - men's frigidarium

D - men's apodyterium

E - men's tepidarium

F - men's caldarium

G - furnaces

H - women's caldarium

I - women's tepidarium

J - women's apodyterium

K - latrines

L - swimming pool

Masses of photos from virtually every angle.
Below is a quick photo-tour:
- aerial view.
- palaestra.
- outdoor pool & palaestra.
- men's tepidarium .
- men's caldarium with round drinking-fountain (note the new glass roof).
- men's frigidarium with plunge-pool.
- women's baths including :
- women's apodyterium with clothes' niches.
- women's tepidarium.
- women's caldarium (east end) with marble-lined hot tub.
- women's caldarium (west end) with drinking-fountain.

And some more:

- reconstruction 2.

- reconstruction 3.

After following this link, click Pompeii on the left-hand, red column; then choose Terme from the menu going across the centre.

Description, plan and photos.

Aerial view with their location outlined in red.

- On this official map they are outlined in red too.

Key to the plan:

A - palaestra

B - men's apodyterium

C - men's frigidarium

D - men's tepidarium

E - men's caldarium

F - furnaces

G - women's apodyterium

H - women's tepidarium

I - women's caldarium

Professor Larry Ball takes you on a tour of the baths in six movie clips. Start at No.1...!

Made for university students, some of his comments may be hard to understand.

The larger blue area is the men's section, the smaller pink area is the women's.

Plans, photos and description.

Lots of photos detailing almost every part of the bath complex.

Below is a quick photo-tour:

- tepidarium.

- telamons supporting the niches in the tepidarium.

- bronze brazier for hot coals in tepidarium;
- plastered ceiling in tepidarium.

- caldarium.

- cold water fountain in the men's caldarium.

- circular frigidarium.

Aerial view with their location outlined in red.

- On this official map they are outlined in red too.

Large and spacious... but never completed.

Short description, plan and photos of these baths that were unfinished at the time of the Vesuvius eruption.

Aerial view with their location outlined in red.

- On this official map they are outlined in red too.

Outlined in red on this map.

Here's a close-up of the sketch.

Spin around and enter the bath buildings on a room-by-room tour.

Probably the best preserved bath buildings in the Roman world. They were not segregated, and so were probably used alternately by both sexes.

- vestibule.

- apodyterium/frigidarium with cold tub.

- tepidarium.

- caldarium with hot tub.

- heated pool room.

Description, plan and photos.

Outlined in red on this map.

Here's a close-up of the sketch.

Terrific plan and 3D reconstruction.

- women's apodyterium with close-up of Triton mosaic.

- detail of geometric mosaic from the women's tepidarium.

- women's caldarium with detail of marble bench.

- palaestra.

- men's apodyterium with detail of water basin.

- men's tepidarium.

- men's caldarium.

- men's frigidarium.

Short video on YouTube peeking into the rooms of the bath building.

Description, plan and photos.

Bathing complexes are highlighted in black.

Built 104-109 AD, they were designed by Trajan's favorite architect Apollodorus of Damascus, designer of his Forum. The baths were the first to deliberately face southwest to catch increased afternoon sunlight and warmth, a characteristic continued in later large bath buildings - or thermae as they are known.

- location in relation to the Colosseum and other areas of Rome.

- location, alternate view

- ground-plan.

- aerial photo plan with surviving walls numbered.

- zoom in on Google maps.

- western perimeter exedra aka "library": #2 on aerial photo plan, #11 on ground-plan.

- eastern perimeter exedra aka "exedra-nymphaeum": #7 on aerial photo plan, #8 on ground-plan. Its whole floor was a water basin filled by fountains set in a row of niches in the wall.

- palaestra exedra #5 on aerial photo plan, #12 on ground-plan, that had a raised-floor hypocaust system.

- apsidal hall, #13 on ground-plan, that linked to the caldarium.

Built in 216 AD.

More links:

- location in relation to the Colosseum and other areas of Rome.

- plan.

- model 1.

- model 2.

- aerial view of ruins.

- zoom in on Google maps.

- cgi fly-through of reconstructed baths.

- swimming pool reconstruction.

- Pennsylvania Railway Station in New York, built 1910 but now demolished, was modeled on the baths.

- painting by renowned Victorian Lawrence Alma-Tadema.

- video of today's ruins.

The largest and most sumptuous of the imperial baths. The baths were built between the years 298 AD and 306 AD. Although now largely converted into the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the basic shape and decoration of the Roman baths is evident.
More links:
- location in relation to the Colosseum and other areas of Rome.
- plan.
- model reconstruction.
- aerial view of ruins.
- zoom in and fly around on Google maps.
- entrance hall exterior.
- entrance hall interior - now a museum stripped of all interior decoration; #1 on the plan.
- frigidarium interior - now a church. The vaults, window openings and columns are original; #5 on the plan.
- Octagonal Hall exterior - formerly a planetarium; #8 on the plan; rear view.
- Octagonal Hall interior - now a museum exhibition space; #8 on the plan.
- s.w.rotunda exterior - now the Church of S.Bernado; #9 on the plan.
- s.w.rotunda interior - original ceiling; #9 on the plan
- s.e.rotunda exterior - now restaurant and housing; #11 on the plan.
- hall/library - now a storage area; #12 on the plan

This reconstruction links to other parts of Bath website.
See also Stage 21 in Book III.

An artist's impresion of the complex. The most impressive piece that remains today is this wall - the largest surviving-piece of Roman wall from a building in Britain.

2nd largest piece of Roman wall in Britain, once part of the 2nd-century AD bath complex.

A reconstructed bath house in northern England.

How the Pompeians solved their need for water: first with cisterns, and then with aqueducts.

Superb photos of water pipes, valves, siphons, etc. excavated from the houses of Pompeii which were equipped with efficient plumbing systems, which also supplied water for the garden fountains.

Maps and photos illustrate this short page on aqueducts, fountains, and drains.

Interactive map showing all the public fountains in Pompeii, linking to photos. Fancy a drink?

Good introdution to one of the glories of the Roman world.

Detailed look at these engineering marvels on Wikipedia.

At the 33 minute mark of this video about Roman baths, comes an interesting section about Roman water supply.

A short description of the Roman ball game of harpastum follows those of Egyptian and Greek ball games. Be sure to check out the ancient images!

Throwing balls appears to have been a popular Roman pastime in the palaestra, if not in the street. This scene is from the Roman villa at Piazza Armerina in Sicily.

The oblong-shaped ball is a paganica which was commonly used for exercise in Roman times. From the Roman villa at Piazza Armerina in Sicily.

Wall-painting of 1st century AD from the "Tomb of the Painters" in Rome, now in the National Roman Museum at the Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme in Rome.

A Greek classical relief from the National Museum of Archaeology in Athens.

Once you had covered yourself in olive oil (effectively a type of soap) which you carried in the little round glass pot, you scraped the oil and dirt of your skin with a curved scraper called a strigil. They were often of bronze or, if you were flash, silver.

This Roman bronze strigil is from and on display at Zoffingen Roman villa in Switzerland.

Here are two Roman silver strigils found near Lake Trasimene in Italy and now in the Met Museum, New York.

This famous bronze statue is of a weary boxer. It's a 1st century AD Roman copy of a 3rd or 2nd century BC Greek original by the sculptor Apollonius.

Close-up of the leather thongs wrapped around his hands.

Found in Rome, it is now on show in the National Roman Museum at the Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme in Rome.

One might not want to throw a discus very far in a palaestra but...
This is one of the great sculptures of the Classical world, this marble statue is a Roman copy of the Greek original (which no longer exists) sculpted in bronze by Myron around 450 BC.
This marble copy (there are also a few others) was found on the Esquiline hill in the 1700's. It is now in the National Roman Museum at the Palazzo Massimo Alle Terme in Rome.