Details
Bathing culture was one of the pillars of Roman society and bathhouses are one of the largest categories of a particular type of construction excavated in the Roman world. The large number of surviving remains and their regional variety make bathhouses vital for the study of the local societies in the Roman-Byzantine period.
This book presents the archaeological evidence of close to 200 Roman-style bathhouses from the region of Iudaea/Syria-Palaestina and Provincia Arabia, part of the provinces of the Roman East, constructed from the reign of Herod the Great (second half of the 1st century BCE) to the end of the Umayyad rule (mid-8th century CE). The bathing complexes of the Roman, Byzantine, and the Early Islamic periods, ranging from large public thermae to small bathing suites, are for the first time analysed as unified data with an unprecedented amount of detail, considering a variety of parameters - from dating and setting, through building techniques and materials, to plans and decorations. Typologies of the bathhouses and their components are supplemented by exploration of the socio-cultural insight provided by this particular type of construction. The historical narrative of the regional bathing facilities is updated in the light of new information. The full raw data used for the study is provided in the expandable open-access online database.
This book presents the archaeological evidence of close to 200 Roman-style bathhouses from the region of Iudaea/Syria-Palaestina and Provincia Arabia, part of the provinces of the Roman East, constructed from the reign of Herod the Great (second half of the 1st century BCE) to the end of the Umayyad rule (mid-8th century CE). The bathing complexes of the Roman, Byzantine, and the Early Islamic periods, ranging from large public thermae to small bathing suites, are for the first time analysed as unified data with an unprecedented amount of detail, considering a variety of parameters - from dating and setting, through building techniques and materials, to plans and decorations. Typologies of the bathhouses and their components are supplemented by exploration of the socio-cultural insight provided by this particular type of construction. The historical narrative of the regional bathing facilities is updated in the light of new information. The full raw data used for the study is provided in the expandable open-access online database.
Table of Contents
List of tables
List of figures
Preface
Introduction
1. Baths and bathing in Rome and the Roman East
2. Bathing complexes in Iudaea/Syria-Palaestina and Provincia Arabia
3. Analysis of bathhouses of Iudaea/Syria-Palaestina and Provincia Arabia
4. Conclusions 1164.1. History of bathhouses in Iudaea/Syria-Palaestina and Provincia
Bibliography
Glossary
Reviews & Quotes
"All in all this is a sound study applying the results of the latest scholarship on Roman bathhouses to a particular region and considering all of the obvious questions on the basis of a substantial collection of buildings. The online catalogue especially will become an invaluable help to further scholarship on the subject and showcases the extremely high density of bathhouses in the study region, which is remarkable in itself.
"
Stefanie Hoss
Bryn Mawr Classical Review
(12/10/2022)
