Baths at Ostia - Knowledge (XXG)

191:(379-395 C.E.). The Baths were constructed in the city center and were the largest of all Ostia baths with a large palaestra south of the main building. The Forum Baths are characteristic of the experimental mode of planning during Hadrianic-Antonine period. The structure may have reached 15–17 meters tall, although not as high the remains are still impressive. Along the southern face of the building are the warm rooms of the bathhouse, placed to take advantage of the sun's passive heating. Here a modern visitor can see the octagonal sun-bathing room (heliocaminus), an elliptical sweating room (laconicum) two tedpiaria and a caldarium with three pools. The palaestra was surrounded on three sides by porticos which shaded the entrance to shops. Many hairpins were recovered during excavations proving that the baths were used by women. It is assumed that this would be at a separate time of day from men, but no clear evidence exists. 725: 633: 448: 327: 27: 319: 285: 428: 164: 225: 776:

namesake black-and-white mosaic of a city wall and a man swimming. The bathhouse was supplied by a two-story cistern on the northern wall of the building. It has been calculated based on the space of the suite of hot rooms that only about 50 people could use the bath at once, leading to an estimated 600 people per day. The bath excavations had a large impact on modern Italian Archaeology material study when Andrea Carandini divided the material up to be published on by his graduate students.

200: 790: 764: 440:. The bath is named after a satirical painting of seven Greek philosophers found in a room that was formerly a tavern and later used as the apodyterium, the philosophers are identified by their names and city of origin written in Greek and a humorous and ironic Latin inscription referring to latrine activities. The central hall contains a mosaic with 5 concentric rings depicting hunting scenes. The room adjacent to the 560:. It has several phases of construction, from the first half of the 2nd century C.E. through the Severan period. A cache of republican period coins in a bronze vessel was in its foundation. Like many of the smaller bathhouses, this one was set into the existing urban fabric with bars, shops, and apartments surrounding it. There are several reservoirs underneath that supply water to the bathhouse. 644:, due to a bust of Trajan's sister being recovered there, and the thermae maritime based on epigraphic evidence. The baths were originally financed by Hadrian and Antonius Pius, they were completed in December of 138 or 139 C.E. and then renovated several times, during the 2nd century by Publius Lucilius Gamala, and in the 4th century by Proculus Gregorius, and even during the reign of 381:

impressive part of the structure. At its center is a group of dolphins flanked by heads that represent different Roman provinces, encircling these are images of shields and spears implicating Rome's conquering of the provinces. These remains are the earliest archaeologists have recovered of a bath complex in Osita despite epigraphic evidence suggesting some of a

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but that was stolen shortly after its discovery. The heads were all named, the referee was called Musiciolus ("Harmonious" and the namesake of the bathhouse), and the four athletes were called Faustus (lucky), Ursus (bear), Luxsurius (Voluptuous), and Pascentius. Faustus is shown with a victory palm, and in the small apse are a set of long jump weights and

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man was a bathing attendant and holds a bucket and a stick. In the caldarium is another black-and-white mosaic with a marine scene of Triton and Nereid. The bath was supplied with water by a tank equipped with a noria in the adjacent Republican Sacred Area. These baths also preserved frescoes with garden images, creating an illusion of a real garden.

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possible school a possible guild temple and a room that could have stored carriages. The floors and walls of the Bath of the Philosopher were decorated with marble in this structure. The building may have become the meeting place of a Neoplatonic philosophical school, since two portraits of the philosopher

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XIV, 137 which has since been connected to the Porta Marina Baths. These baths were started around 130 C.E., destroying a part of the Republican city walls in their construction. They underwent two more sets of renovations around 210 C.E. and in the mid-4th century C.E. The bathhouse contains several

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riding a hippocampus. The frigidarium has a mosaic of Scylla surrounded by sea divinities. The last figural mosaic is one of a group of athletes in a room to the south-east of the palaestra. There are two boxers with spiked gloves, two boxers-wrestlers, and a wrestler. None of the mosaics can be seen

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Under the Forum of the Heroic Statue (I, XII, 2) and the neighboring House the Cistern (I, XII, 4) are the remains of a bathhouse from the Hadrianic period. An octagonal room with niches is preserved in the House of the Cistern with evidence of a missing hypocaust system suggesting that this room was

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Period. Many of the baths follow simple row arrangements, with one room following the next, due to the density of buildings in Ostia. Only a few, like the Forum Baths or the Baths of the Swimmers, had the space to include palestra. Archaeologist name the bathhouses from features preserved for example

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This small bathhouse (IV, IX, 6) was a balneum built into the fabric of the house, but have only been partially excavated. The bathhouse was added during the 4th century C.E. It was named after the discovery of a human skeleton in room 15, in 2014. The only rooms that were exposed were those related

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and a restructuring of the complex under Constantius II in 347-348 C.E. The structure has an entrance hall, frigidarium and four small heated rooms, in which black-and-white and polychrome geometric mosaics were discovered. The central room had a mosaic with the heads of four athletes and a referee,

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and the Bull and Venus carried by Tritons and a Nereid. The namesake mosaic can be found in the floor of the frigidarium where fish and sea monsters surround a lighthouse (pharos). The lighthouse and a marine goat are the main compositional figures and they are surrounded by smaller marine creatures

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This bath (I, XIX, 5)(c. 385 square meters) was built in late antiquity around 450-500 C.E. reusing Hadrianic bricks. It was accessible only from the warehouse to the east of it. It is one of the last building projects before the abandonment of the city. The building was constructed above the rubble

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of Neptune in building II, IV, 2 lead to the Baths of Neptune. The baths in Ostia follow the standard numbering convention by archaeologists, who divided the town into five regions, numbered I to V, and then identified the individual blocks and buildings as follows: (region) I, (block) I, (building)

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and a set of two-wheeled wagons (in Latin cisia) drawn by mules with silly names like Pudes (Prudish), Podagrosus (Gouty), Potiscus (Thirsty?), and Barosus (Effeminate). It is this mosaic that gives the name to the bathhouse. In recent excavations, a noria (wooden water wheel) was discovered in the

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This modest bathhouse (II, II, 3) is found close to the Porta Romana and Via Ostiensis. It has been speculated that it was the guild headquarters for the Cisiarii (Latin for Coachmen) however there is no direct evidence for this besides the subject of the mosaics. The structure was built during the

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have brought to light 26 different bath complexes in the town. These range from large public baths, such as the Forum Baths, to smaller most likely private ones such as the small baths (I, XIX, 5). It is unclear from the evidence if there was a fee charged or if they were free. Baths in Ostia would

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The baths (V, V, 2), named after an inscription in a black-and-white mosaic found in an adjoining shop, were built in c. 50 C.E. and modified several times afterward, once during the Antonine period, then again in the first half of the 3rd century C.E. and finally in the 5th century C.E. The bath,

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The Baths of the Philosopher (V, II, 6-7) were built in the second half of the 3rd century C.E. into the existing fabric of a Trajanic building. Designed to take advantage of the passive heating of the sun, they are positioned on the east side of the building. The rest of the building has shops, a

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was built in the late second or early third century C.E. and is accessible by a staircase in the northern part of the building. The remains preserve evidence of the utilitarian aspects of a Roman bathhouse such as a waterwheel for bringing water into the bathhouse and a boiler room for heating the

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in Ostia, where the rooms are built into the established city grid leading to a chaotic interior layout often without a palaestra. In Room 4 is a black-and-white mosaic with marine animals and a man. Besides the man is an inscription EPICTETVS BVTICOSVS, giving the bath house its modern name. This

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The Baths of the Lighthouse (IV, II, 1) have a long history of use, originally started during the late Trajanic/Early Hadrianic Period with renovations during the late Antonine/early Marcus Aurelian period, again during the reign of Caracalla, during the last quarter of the 3rd century C.E., and

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A small bathhouse (II, V) has been partially uncovered in the Via dei Vigili, near the barracks of the firefighters. Some archaeologists also call it the Baths of the Provinces. The construction dates to circa 50 C.E. soon after Ostia received its aqueduct. The black-and-white mosaic is the most

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between 89-90 C.E., The structure was renovated during the city-wide improvements under Hadrian and Antoninus Pius, which modifications occurring in between 180-200 C.E. and again between 230-250 C.E. In the end, the building was plundered and used as an amphorae dump. In the frigidarium is the

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like many in Ostia, is built into the urban fabric, which several shops surrounding the building. One of the bars is accessible both from the street and from the apodyterium. Several mosaics with marine themes can be seen throughout the structure (Nereid on a hippocamp in the changing rooms, an

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The baths appear to be a part of suburban revival initiated by Hadrian in the Porta Marina area in conjunction with the Baths of Silenus. They were sumptuously decorated, with many statue bases found in the frigidarium and several black-and-white mosaics with athletes in various stages of the

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The Baths of Neptune are one of the few in Ostia that contains an open-air palaestra, surrounded on three sides by marble columns. Under the palaestra was a reservoir that received water from the Julio-Claudian aqueduct and feed the bathhouses in the area. The bathhouse was constructed with a

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The so-called Imperial Palace may actually have been a multifunctional insula, as seen throughout Ostia. The remains are outside the main excavated area. The bathhouse aspect of the building was built between 145-150 C.E. and based on stamped fistulae (lead pipes) was possibly sponsored by

343:. At the end of the second century C.E it was restored by Gamala Iunior. The bath continued to be renovated until the 4th century C.E. The bath house is surrounded on four sides by streets and has entrances on each street. The overall design of the bathhouse was similar to those found in 484:

This warehouse was built during the Hadrianic Period and most likely was privately owned. During the fourth century C.E. a set of rooms in the south end of the building was converted into a bath suite with mosaics. This balnea, along with several other refurbished bathhouses, served the

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Four large black-and-white figural mosaics were found here. The eponymous mosaic of Neptune riding a chariot drawn by hippocampi and surrounded by marine animals can be found after entering the bathhouse, this room is just south of the frigidarium. In an adjacent room is the mosaic of

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This bath complex (III, X, 2) creates a city block with houses to the north and the south (House of the Charioteers and House of Serapis) from the late Hadrianic/early Antonine period. It is possible this bathhouse was only intended for the residents of the two adjoining

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and covered c. 3,200 square meters. Statues of Hygieia, Aesculapius, and Fortuna were some of the many statues recovered from the bath that most likely belonged to the Forum Bath's decorative program. Additionally, cipollino columns were used to decorate the bathhouse.

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from any one position in the bathhouse, forcing a viewer to move through the space. The individuals in the mosaics have a three-dimensional quality to them, showing overlapping and twisting, although the scene as a whole remains flat.

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competition and holding different prizes or pieces of equipment. A palaestra with a three-sided porticus is on the north end of the building. And the entrance halls and changing areas are decorated with mosaics showing fish and

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East of the theater is another large square bath complex covering c. 4,400 square meters (67 meters x 67 meters) and is known as the Baths of Neptune (II, IV, 2). The structure, built late during the reign of the emperor

372:. The statue alludes to the role the imperial family had with this bathhouse and has been identified as a shrine for the Imperial Cult. The upper floors of the building had domestic dwellings with separate entrances. 603:

was recovered from a secure context indicating that the bath remained in use during the first half of the 5th century C.E. until the earthquake of 442 C.E., when the structure most likely was abandoned.

476:. In one of the heated rooms is a mosaic that potential advertised where one could find prostitutes in the bathhouse. Although others suggest that it was a nickname for an unofficial youth organization. 2934:

Interdisciplinary Studies on Ancient Stone ASMOSIA X Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference of ASMOSIA Association for the Study of Marble & Other Stones in Antiquity Rome, 21–26 May 2012

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of the House of Jupiter the Thunderer. There are many geometric mosaics found throughout the rooms here, additional the bathhouse has 10 apses, which could be the inspiration for its modern name.

810:), therefore it might have been known as balneum Matidiae. Almost Two dozen black-and-white and polychrome mosaics were recovered. While a number of them have been lost, several are now in the 2909:

David, Massimiliano; Carinci, Mauro; Graziano, Stella; De Togni, Stefano; Turci, Marcello; Pellegrino, Angelo (2014). "Nuovi dati e argomenti per Ostia tardoantica dal Progetto Ostia Marina".

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Heating and fuel consumption in the Terme del Foro at Ostia: a dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

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based on brick stamps recovered These renovations display the continued vitality of the extra-urban area of Ostia in the Late Antique/Early Medieval Period possibly due to the proximity of

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Gates. Brick stamps recovered suggest an initial construction of 123-126 C.E. with later reuse during the Late Antique period of Ostia The name comes from the marble revetment depicting

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surrounding by four smaller tritons, done to emphasise the importance of the central figure. Beyond the typical bathhouse rooms, it also contains a set of terraces that led to the sea.

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Martin, Archer; Heinzelmann, Michael; De Sena, Eric C.; Cecere, Maria Grazia Granino (2002). "The Urbanistic Project on the Previously Unexcavated Areas of Ostia (DAI-AAR 1996-2001)".

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have served both a hygienic and a social function like in many other parts of the Roman world. Bath construction increased after an aqueduct was built for Ostia in the early

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monumental facade along the Decumanus, built at the same time as the bathhouse and repaired in 350 C.E., possibly after an earthquake in 346 C.E. There is a central

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and restored sometime during the early third century C.E. It is unclear if they are related to their namesake, the neighboring Christian Basilica (III, I, 4).

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Ostia, l'Italia e il Mediterraneo: Intorno all'opera di Mireille Cébeillac-Gervasoni. Atti del Quinto seminario ostiense, Roma-Ostia, 21-22 febbraio 2018

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Ostia, l'Italia e il Mediterraneo: Intorno all'opera di Mireille Cébeillac-Gervasoni. Atti del Quinto seminario ostiense, Roma-Ostia, 21-22 febbraio 2018

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Ostia, l'Italia e il Mediterraneo: Intorno all'opera di Mireille Cébeillac-Gervasoni. Atti del Quinto seminario ostiense, Roma-Ostia, 21-22 febbraio 2018

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of the collapsed insulae and reused many of the rooms in the area for the bath such as the street entrance of a former shop being converted into the

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The Forum Baths (I, XII, 6) are located of the Via della Forica south of the Forum. The complex is also called the Thermae Gavii Maximi, named after

2979:"Le Terme Marittime della Marciana e del Sileno, e i balnea ostiensi di Musiciolus e dello Scheletro: Fonti epigrafiche e accertamenti archeologici" 532:

These small baths were built behind a commercial building during the Antonine period. It is poorly preserved and on the edge of the excavated area.

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Blümich, Bernhard; Del Federico, Eleonora; Jaschtschuk, Denis; Küppers, Markus; Fallon, Katelin; Steinfeld, Adelaide; Tomassini, Paolo (2021).

624:. The baths appear to be a part of suburban revival initiated by Hadrian in the Porta Marina area in conjunction with the Porta Marina Baths. 2286: 2236: 2028: 1957: 1907: 1731: 1681: 1631: 1551: 1272: 1077: 63: 699:

Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus, Pontifex Maximus, with the power of tribune for the second time, consul for the second time,

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These baths (III, VIII, 2) were given the wrong name by early excavators at Ostia. Originally believed to be the Thermae Marittime in

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in Rome. A set of hypocausts decorated with marble were recovered. Due to the size, it appears it was connected to a private

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riding a marine tiger in the cold bath). The palaestra can be reached from the heated rooms or a separate street entrance.

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rooms south of the frigidarium. Enslaved people would have walked in the wheel to draw up and distribute the water needed.

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There were several phases of construction for the baths. The Forum Baths were initially built during the reigns of Emperor

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David, Massimiliano; Succi, S.; Turci, Marcello (2012). ""Marmora Ostiensa". New results from the Ostia Marina Project".

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The Emperor Caesar, son of the deified Hadrian, grandson of Trajanus Parthicus, and great-grandson of the deified Nerva,

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Outside the traditional regions of Ostia, a small Late Antique bathhouse came to light during soundings done by the

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This bathhouse (IV, V, 10-11), named for the six columns found in its courtyard, was along the western half of the

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Poccardi, Grégoire (2006). "Les bains de la ville d'Ostie à l'époque tardo-antique (fin IIIe -début VIe siècle)".

616:. The 400-square meter structure was built along the ancient coastline in the extra-urban neighborhood beyond the 612:

The Baths of Silenus (IV, IX, 7) were discovered in 2011 as a part of the work of the Ostia Marina Project at the

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is used as evidence that the ownership of the baths changed three times, between some Roman Senators and either

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Les cités de l'Italie tardo-antique (IVe – VIe siècle): Institutions, économie, société, culture et religion

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The baths of Musiciolus (IV,XV,2) are in the mostly unexcavated area between the Porta Marina Baths and the

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circa 110 C.E. and remodeled in the middle of the second century C.E. This bath is typical of many of the

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Boin, Douglas (2010). "A Hall for Hercules at Ostia and a Farewell to the Late Antique "Pagan Revival"".

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The materiality of text: placement, perception and presence of inscribed texts in classical antiquity

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delivered the baths for the construction of which his divine father had promised 2,000,000 sesterces,

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PRONEPOS T(itus) AELIVS HADRIANVS ANTONINVS AVG(ustus) PIVS PONTIF(ex) MAX(imus) TRIB(unicia) POTES

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and a metal oil vessel. This mosaic most likely was installed during 4th century C.E. renovations.

716:. The baths also contained sculptures of the labors of Hercules now housed in the Vatican Museum. 617: 3467: 3199: 3191: 3156: 2996: 2891: 2794: 1341: 1333: 545: 469: 152: 271:

a heated part of the bath, although the later buildings have obscured much of the original use.

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Gering, Axel (2015). "Ruins, Rubbish Dumps and Encroachment: Resurveying Late Antique Ostia".

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Gering, Axel (2015). "Ruins, Rubbish Dumps and Encroachment: Resurveying Late Antique Ostia".

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the inscription of Buticoso in building I, XIV, 8 lead to the name Bath of Buticosus or the

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THERMAS IN QVARVM EXSTRUCTIONEM DIVOS PATER SVVS ((sestertios)) XX ((centena milia)) POLLI

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The baths of Mithras (I, XVII, 2) were built around c. 125 C.E. and modified in the early

176: 2838:"Regio IV - Insula IX - Caseggiato delle Due Scale and Terme dello Scheletro (IV, IX, 6)" 249:. Some of the earliest Christian imagery found in Ostia comes from the Baths of Mithras. 763: 540:

It is unclear why these baths (IV, IV, 8) were give this name. They are evidence of the

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which depicts two sets of walls, possibly referring to Rome and Ostia, four figures of

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after adding more money than was wished for and also marble for the entire decoration.

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inhabitation of Ostia being built between 390 and 425 C.E. They were constructed in a

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caldaria and tepidaria. The frigidarium contains an apsidal pool and a mosaic showing

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Hamilton, Gavin; Smith, A.H. (1901). "Gavin Hamilton's Letters to Charles Townley".

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era and refurbished during the 3rd Century CE. Notable is the large black-and-white

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was not about the Baths of Neptune, but instead about the Porta Marina Baths.

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IMP(erator) CAESAR DIVI HADRIANI FIL(ius) DIVI TRAIANI PARTHICI NEP(os) DIVI

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These baths have also been called by modern archaeologists both the Baths of

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who sponsored their construction. The baths were intended for public use in

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Ring, James (1996). "Windows, Baths and Solar Energy in the Roman Empire".

104: 830:, but further research is needed. A lead waterpipe, stamped with the name 772: 739: 641: 583: 513: 473: 461: 242: 3142: 3096: 2606:

Field Methods and Post-Excavation Techniques in Late Antique Archaeology

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Field Methods and Post-Excavation Techniques in Late Antique Archaeology

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Field Methods and Post-Excavation Techniques in Late Antique Archaeology

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Field Methods and Post-Excavation Techniques in Late Antique Archaeology

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ADIECTA PECVNIA QVANTA AMPLIVS DESIDERABATVR ITEM MARMORIBVS AD OMNEM C

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This small bathhouse (I, XIV, 8) was constructed during the reign of

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These baths (III, XVI, 7) which were built at the same time as the

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in 351 C.E. was recovered indicating that he built the bathhouse.

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The Baths of the Swimmer (V, X, 3) were built during the reign of

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Portrait of Plotinus from Bath of the Philosopher (c.250-300 C.E.)

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during the 5th century C.E. Flanking the entrance are shops and a

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Ostia V: Le terme del nuotatore. Cronologia di un'insula ostiense

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These baths (III, I, 2-3) were constructed during the reign of

3513: 2741:"Regio IV - Insula V - Terme delle Sei Colonne (IV, V, 10-11)" 2570:

Kleijwegt, Marc (1994). "Iuvenes and Roman Imperial Society".

2105:. Rome: Soprintendenza Archeologica di Ostia. pp. 17–18. 1601:. Rome: Soprintendenza Archeologica di Ostia. pp. 57–58. 1781:"Regio I - Insula XII - Foro della Statua Eroica (I, XII, 2)" 1806:"Regio I - Insula XII - Caseggiato della Cisterna (I,XII,4)" 2431:"Regio III - Insula X - Terme dei Sette Sapienti (III,X,2)" 1436:"Nondestructive Analysis of Wall Paintings at Ostia Antica" 415:

mosaics with oceanic themes. One of them shows the head of

3075:. Rome: Soprintendenza Archeologica di Ostia. p. 50. 2484:. Rome: Soprintendenza Archeologica di Ostia. p. 53. 2378:"Regio III - Insula VIII - Terme Marittime (III, VIII, 2)" 1976: