The ancient Roman city of Pompeii, buried by ash and lava in 70 AD, has uncovered a new treasure: a private bath built 2,000 years ago.
rome — Pompeii, Ancient Roman city Buried by ash and lava in AD 70, he discovered a new treasure – a private bathhouse built 2,000 years ago, decorated with sumptuous mosaics and equipped with a series of spa-style hot, warm and cold rooms.
“Here we have perhaps the largest thermal complex in a private house in Pompeii,” said Gabriel Zutstriegl, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park. “Members of Pompeii’s ruling class created enormous spaces in their homes to host banquets.
He added: “They had the job of creating consensus, promoting the election campaign, and closing deals. “It was an opportunity to show the wealth in which they live and also get a nice thermal treatment.”
The baths were discovered in the so-called Reggio IX, a large central area of Pompeii’s park that remains unexplored, where major archaeological excavations are revealing new aspects of the daily life of Pompeii’s inhabitants.
More recently, archaeologists working in the same area found a bakery, a laundromat, two villas and the bones of three people who died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which destroyed the ancient Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Pompeii’s wealthy residents often bathed first and then held a banquet, so the private spa complex allowed this to be done within the same house, Zutstrigel said.
“There is space for about 30 people who can do the whole routine, and it can also be done in the public baths. So there is the calidarium, which is a very warm environment and also a large basin with cold water.”