The Roman Berytus (Roman Baths) are located in the middle of downtown Beirut, Lebanon between Banks Street and Capuchin Street. [1] The remains of a Roman bath of Berytus now surrounded by government buildings were found and conserved for posterity. [2]
The Roman Baths is an ancient Roman thermae or bath site inside the Roman city of Berytus. [3] It was discovered in 1968–1969 and underwent major renovation in the mid-1990s. [4]
The archaeological ruin of one of the baths has been preserved and is occasionally used as a performance space, thus reflecting the ancient traditions of the site. [5] One of the baths is used as an artistic performance and concert space. The modern site is also home to Mediterranean-style gardens [6] that contain a variety of medicinal plants once used in bathing balms.
The Roman bathhouse was a meeting place for all citizens. It had four major bath chambers. The bather moved from warm to hot baths, through rooms of varying temperatures. Located under the floor, the heating system (hypocaust) allowed the air, warmed by wood fires in adjacent vaults, to circulate between pillars of terracotta disks that heated the marble floor; terracotta pipes in the walls allowed the air to rise up to the ceiling. Water from the boiler fed the marble-tiled pools in the hot room (caldarium), and a large stone basin (labrum) contained cool water for the bathers’ use. The bathing routine ended with a body massage of therapeutic oils. The high vaulted, spacious halls of the bathhouse also accommodated performances of jesters and musicians.
The Berytus Baths were discovered in 1968, then underwent major renovation in the mid-1990s. [7] Roman Berytus had four major bath complexes (thermae) and the first was created in the early first century under Augustus. An intricate network of lead or clay pipes and channels distributed the water from the cisterns external to the Baths to the various pools of the Roman Baths.
In the second century was probably visited by the emperor Hadrian. The terrible Berytus earthquake of 551 AD destroyed all the baths.
Today, the Roman Berytus Baths reflect the ancient traditions of the site. One of the baths is used as an artistic performance and concert space. The modern site is also home to Mediterranean-style gardens [8] that contain a variety of medicinal plants once used in bathing balms.
Actually the gardens of these "Baths" are located inside the famous Garden of Forgiveness of modern Beirut.
A bathroom or washroom is a room, typically in a home or other residential building, that contains either a bathtub or a shower. The inclusion of a wash basin is common. In some parts of the world e.g. India, a toilet is typically included in the bathroom; in others, the toilet is typically given a dedicated room separate from the one allocated for personal hygiene activities. In North American English the word 'bathroom' is sometimes used to refer to any room in a residence that contains a toilet, regardless of the inclusion of a bath or shower.
Sentō (銭湯) is a type of Japanese communal bathhouse where customers pay for entrance. Traditionally these bathhouses have been quite utilitarian, with a tall barrier separating the sexes within one large room, a minimum of lined-up faucets on both sides, and a single large bath for the already washed bathers to sit in among others. Since the second half of the 20th century, these communal bathhouses have been decreasing in numbers as more and more Japanese residences now have baths. Some Japanese find social importance in going to public baths, out of the theory that physical proximity/intimacy brings emotional intimacy, which is termed skinship in pseudo-English Japanese. Others go to a sentō because they live in a small housing facility without a private bath or to enjoy bathing in a spacious room and to relax in saunas or jet baths that often accompany new or renovated sentōs.
A hammam or Turkish bath is a type of steam bath or a place of public bathing associated with the Islamic world. It is a prominent feature in the culture of the Muslim world and was inherited from the model of the Roman thermae. Muslim bathhouses or hammams were historically found across the Middle East, North Africa, al-Andalus, Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and in Southeastern Europe under Ottoman rule. A variation on the Muslim bathhouse, the Victorian Turkish bath, became popular as a form of therapy, a method of cleansing, and a place for relaxation during the Victorian era, rapidly spreading through the British Empire, the United States of America, and Western Europe.
In ancient Rome, thermae and balneae were facilities for bathing. Thermae usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while balneae were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout Rome.
The Baths of Caracalla in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Roman public baths, or thermae, after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 and 216/217, during the reigns of emperors Septimius Severus and Caracalla. They were in operation until the 530s and then fell into disuse and ruin.
Bathing is the act of washing the body, usually with water, or the immersion of the body in water. It may be practiced for personal hygiene, religious ritual or therapeutic purposes. By analogy, especially as a recreational activity, the term is also applied to sun bathing and sea bathing.
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other criteria. In addition to their hygienic function, public baths have also been social meeting places. They have included saunas, massages, and other relaxation therapies, as are found in modern day spas. As the percentage of dwellings containing private bathrooms has increased in some societies, the need for public baths has diminished, and they are now almost exclusively used recreationally.
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneotherapy. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are especially widespread in Europe and Japan. Day spas and medspas are also quite popular, and offer various personal care treatments.
The Baths of Trajan were a massive thermae, a bathing and leisure complex, built in ancient Rome and dedicated under Trajan during the kalendae of July 109, shortly after the Aqua Traiana was dedicated.
A banya is originally a Russian steam bath with a wood stove. It is considered an important part of Russian culture. The bath takes place in a small room or building designed for dry or wet heat sessions. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. Genders were traditionally segregated in the banya, with separate rooms for the sexes.
A frigidarium is one of the three main bath chambers of a Roman bath or thermae, namely the cold room. It often contains a swimming pool.
Berytus, briefly known as Laodicea in Phoenicia or Laodicea in Canaan from the 2nd century to 64 BCE, was the ancient city of Beirut from the Roman Republic through the Roman Empire and Early Byzantine period/late antiquity. Berytus became a Roman colonia that would be the center of Roman presence in the eastern Mediterranean shores south of Anatolia. The veterans of two Roman legions under Augustus were established in the city, that afterward quickly became Romanized and was the only fully Latin-speaking city in the Syria-Phoenicia region until the fourth century. Although Berytus was still an important city after earthquakes, around 400 CE Tyre was made the capital of the Roman province of Phoenicia. "Of the great law schools of Rome, Constantinople, and Berytus", the law school of Berytus stood "pre-eminent". The Code of Justinian was mostly created in this school.
The Baths of Agrippa was a structure of ancient Rome, in what is now Italy, built by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. It was the first of the great thermae constructed in the city, and also the first public bath.
Bathing played a major part in ancient Roman culture and society. It was one of the most common daily activities and was practiced across a wide variety of social classes. Though many contemporary cultures see bathing as a very private activity conducted in the home, bathing in Rome was a communal activity. While the extremely wealthy could afford bathing facilities in their homes, private baths were very uncommon, and most people bathed in the communal baths (thermae). In some ways, these resembled modern-day destination spas as there were facilities for a variety of activities from exercising to sunbathing to swimming and massage.
A steam bath is a steam-filled room for the purpose of relaxation and cleansing. It has a long history, going back to Greek and Roman times.
The first reports of bathing in Yangzhou originated before 200 BC. In Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China. Locals bathe by filling up pots with water. In ancient Yangzhou natives from the Han Dynasty until the Tang Dynasty bathed at home. Public baths were not available.
The Caliphal Baths are an Islamic bathhouse complex in Córdoba, Spain. They are situated in the historic centre which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1994. The complex was contiguous to the former Caliphal Palaces of the Umayyads, whose inhabitants it served. Today the baths have been partially reconstructed and are open as a museum.
Greek baths were bath complexes suitable for bathing and cleaning in ancient Greece, similar in concept to that of the Roman baths. Greek baths are a feature of some Hellenized countries. These baths have been found in Greece, Egypt, Italy, and there is even one located in Marseille, France. Some of the first baths have been dated back to the 5th century BCE. The public baths had a gradual development into the flourishing, culturally-significant structures of the Hellenistic age. The multiple locations of the baths throughout the Mediterranean offer different, culturally-unique developments.
Cisterns of the Roman Baths are archaeological remains built during Roman times and are located in downtown Beirut, Lebanon. The cisterns were built in order to store and supply water to Roman Berytus.
Victorian Turkish bath or simply Turkish bath is a type of public bathhouse which was derived from the hammam (bathhouse) of the Islamic world and those Roman baths which used hot dry air. It became popular as a therapy, a method of cleansing, and a place for relaxation during the Victorian era, rapidly spreading through the British Empire, the United States of America, and Western Europe.
Roman archaeological sites in Lebanon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Roman Berytus (actual Beirut) |  | |
| Roman Phoenicia (actual Lebanon) |
| |
| Related | ||
| ||
