Description
Book SynopsisIn this book Sadi Maréchal examines the survival, transformation and eventual decline of Roman public baths and bathing habits in Italy, North Africa and Palestine during Late Antiquity. Through the analysis of archaeological remains, ancient literature, inscriptions and papyri, the continued importance of bathhouses as social hubs within the urban fabric is demonstrated, thus radically altering common misconceptions of their decline through the rise of Christianity and elite seclusion. Persistent ideas about health and hygiene, as well as perpetuating ideas of civic self-esteem, drove people to build, restore and praise these focal points of daily life when other classical buildings were left to crumble.
Trade Review"This book will be a welcome reference resource to scholars interested in the intersection between society and the urban built environment in the Late Antique Roman world. [...] This is a work of reference which interested academics will find to be a welcome resource for understanding Late Antique built environments. Maréchal pays strict attention to space and time and casts a very wide net for the types of data catalogued in this volume. The eight urban case studies in particular offer a comprehensive view of Late Antique cities as spaces that constantly changed alongside the needs of their residents. Maréchal keeps his readers cognizant that this study covers well-trodden ground—indeed the introduction even opens with the question ‘Why Baths Again?’—but the study’s strengths lie in the meticulous manner in which the data has been collected. By assembling data from hundreds of archaeological reports, standardizing representations of their plans, supplementing them with maps and colour photographs, and summarizing their findings in English, this volume significantly increases accessibility for non-specialist scholars to all manner of evidence for one of the most defining features of life in Late Antique cities". Douglas Whalin, Bryn Mawr Classical Review, June 2021.
Table of ContentsForeword List of Illustrations Abbreviations Introduction Why Baths Again? General Aims and Outline of the Research Geographical Framework Chronological Framework Methodology and Sources The Structure of the Book Notes on Terminology Notes on Abbreviations 1 General Introduction to Roman Baths and Earlier Research on Late Antique Baths General Introduction to Roman Baths and Bathing Habits Technology of the Baths The Functioning of the Heating System Water Management of Baths Decoration Popularity of Bathhouses Earlier Research on Late Antique Baths 2 Written Evidence of Baths Late Antique Literature Legal Documents Epigraphic Evidence Papyrological Evidence 3 Archaeological Evidence Introduction Rome Ostia Cuicul Thamugadi Carthage Sufetula Ptolemais Scythopolis Archaeological Evidence of Early Hammams 4 Continuity and Change in Late Antique Public Baths and Bathing Habits Architecture Bath Technology Public Baths and Their Contexts Decay or Continuity of Baths and Bathing Habits Epilogue—The Transition to the Hammams General Concluding Remarks and Prospects for Future Research Appendix 1: Late Antique Inscriptions Mentioning Baths Introduction Inscriptions from the Italian Peninsula Inscriptions from North Africa Inscriptions from Palestina Appendix 2: Late Antique Papyri Mentioning Baths Appendix 3: Lists of Late Antique Baths, Possible Baths and Continued Use of Baths Glossary Bibliography Primary Sources Modern Sources Gazetteer Introduction Key to the General Plans Baths in the Italian Peninsula, Sicily and Sardinia Baths in Roman North Africa New Construction Baths in Cyrenaica Baths in Egypt Ecclesiastical Baths Fortress Baths Baths in Palestina Index Late Antique Archaeology
