Hadrian

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Hadrians Baths at Lepcis Magna
Lets go Swimming!
AD 126-127
How appropriate is this powerpoint background?!!
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But first, questions.hmmm

• Think of all the words for cold
• Think of all the words you know for warm
• What features/types of pools/extra elements would
  your ultimate pool complex have?

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a list of Emperors

• Trajanic Dynasty
• Nerva AD96-98
• Trajan AD98-117
• Hadrian AD117-138
• Antonine Dynasty
• Antoninus Pius AD138-161
• Marcus Aurelius AD161- 180
• Lucis Verus AD161-169
• Commodus AD177-192
• Severan dynasty
• (11 emperors)
• Emperors during the height of crisis AD 235-268
• Philip the Arabian
• Many others (constant change)
• Constantine AD 337-307

• Julio-Claudian dynasty
• Augustus 27BC- AD14
• Tiberius AD14 - 37
• Caligula AD37 41
• Claudius AD 41- 54
• Nero AD54- 68
• Year of 4 emperors
• (AD 68 AD69)
• Galba
• Otho
• Vitellius
• Flavian Dynasty
• Vespasian AD69-79
• Titus AD79-81
• Domitian AD 81-96

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the background on baths

• The Function of the baths in Roman times was much
  bigger than the function of swimming pools today.
  The Roman ones were for swimming, washing,
  medicinal, therapeutic exercise.
• In a way, the modern gym is like the ancient
  baths.
• Action Read highlight public baths in your
  workbook.
• NB it discusses caracallas baths as an
  EXAMPLE. We study Hadrians baths in Leptis Magna

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• There were 2 types of baths
• Pre-imperial baths (stabain baths, pompeii, the
  hunting baths, leptis magna) they have no
  symmetry, a separate section for women, small,
  privately owned,restrained decotation.
• Imperial baths (like this one), rigid, bilateral
  symmetry, logical layout, large, publicly owned,
  lavish decoration, no separate area for women.
• Hadrians baths are one of the earliest surviving
  examples of bathing complexes, which are
  symetrically designed. (first were trajans
  baths, 109AD). It was the first major public
  building to make use of imported marble as
  structural decoarative material

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• Bilateral Symmetry means
• rooms/areas on either side of a central line,
  similar in layout, shape function. They are
  symetrically designed along a north/south axis
• The cold to hot process adopted by the Romans is
  reflected in the design
• Bathers are lead from one area to another by the
  sequential arrangement
• This is helped by the framed views from one room
  to another by the screen of columns
• North cold. South warm

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Swimming fun in your workbook!

• Location The man in the picture below has one
  eye. Leptis Magna, Libya
• Architectural type Functional, public baths
• Purpose Erected as aPublic service so
  peoplecould go to the baths. To showthat even
  in distant parts of the Empire, they are still
  under the Personal care of the Emperor. ToShow
  Roman power, also to remind the people that they
  are part of the empire- propaganda to glorify
  Leptis Magna
• Dates of construction C.AD 126-127.Built by
  Emperor Hadrian

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• Room Function/Location/Temp/Detail
• Natatio outdoor swimming pool, for exercise
  enjoyment. First pool in building.29m long x 15m
  wide. 1.5m deep. surrounded on 3 sides by a
  covered portico of corinthian columns made of
  pink marble. 4th side was decorated with arched
  niches inlaid with glass mosaics. Bottom of the
  pool is decorated with a mosaic that imitates
  gravel

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• Frigidarium cold room, 18.2m x 14.9m. Largest
  room.Located in the centre of the building,
  between the horizontal vertical axis of the
  building. transitional cool down after exercise
  area that separated the hot rooms from the cold
  rooms. Higher ceiling than other rooms.Roofed
  with 3 concrete cross-vaults decorated with
  elabourate mosaics. Vaults sprang from engaged
  pediments. Walls of it were originally covered
  in marble decorated with mosaics. 2 cold
  plunge baths at ends of the hall were entered
  through arched doorways

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Arched doorway into plunge pool
Cross vault supported by engaged pediments
Surrounding Black columns
Walls Covered In marble
Cold plunge bath
Modern reconstruction of what the frigidarium
would look like
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• Room Function/Location/Temp/Detail
• Tepidarium the first warm room. Had a marble
  plunge bath as its central feature. This room was
  entered through an arched opening flanked by grey
  marble columns. Purpose of this room was for
  bathing
• Caldarium the largest of the hot rooms.22m x
  10.0m. Roofed with a barrel vault. Walls had 5
  glazed windows (3 largest windows were on
  southern wall, to take advantage of afternoon
  sun). The windows had a water basin in front of
  them. Approached by steps
• Laconica super heated rooms. Set in 2 chambers
  either side of the calarium. The floor was raised
  to allow hot air to circulate underneath. This
  was the equivalent to our sauna for people to
  sweat, open their pores they would be scraped
  afterwards.
• How were the rooms so hot? Caldarium Laconica
  Were heated by furnaces directly behind each
  room, built into the back of the south wall

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Latrines

• Toilets
• Located on both sides of the complex. They had
  marble benches around the 3 walls, on 4th side
  were statues niches. Marble benches had key
  shaped holes cut into them. Sign of the wealth of
  the city marble toilets!! And easy to clean. A
  narrow trough where users washed their toilet
  paper
• Toilet paper sponge on a stick

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Other features

• Apodyteria changing rooms, either side of the
  natatio
• Colonnaded halls chambers are on eastern
  western sides of the complex. Ther were
  libraries, rest areas lecture halls.
• Palaestra- exercise yard outside the complex by
  the natatio. This was a common feature of
  imperial bath complex
• It was covered by a portico of corinthian columns
  with a large aspe at either end

The sky in leptis magna is cooler than our nz sky
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Key words flip notes!

• Palaestra
• Frigidarium
• Tepidarium
• Caldarium
• Laconica
• Natitio
• Apodyteria
• Latrines