Bathhouses

        Hi everyone! I researched Roman bathhouses! When it came to my research with this topic, I found out many things about bathhouses that I did not know. I discovered things like what kind of people went to the bathhouses, what kinds of activities are available at the bathhouses other than bathing, how the bath is kept warm, what the buildings are made out of, and other things.

        The kinds of people that went to bathhouses are really any kind of people. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor. The bathhouse is a communal place where all are welcome and all are equal. Everyone bathes in the same bath. Most people believe that the only thing to do at a bathhouse is to bathe. That is completely false! The bathhouse offers many other services. Most bathhouses had libraries, exercise rooms, saunas, and recreation rooms. There were many different activities to do. The Roman bathes were a very luxurious part of everyday life. Going to the bathes was apart of the average Roman's daily schedule. Some wealthier Romans had private bathes installed into their homes if they didn't want to associate with the every day person. This is one of the reasons why Romans are known for their stellar hygiene.
       

 A lot of people wonder how these bathes are kept warm. There are two main ways in which the bathes are kept heated. There was a system underneath the tub. A furnace that heats up under it and heats the water. The other way was that the windows were built so the sun shined onto the bathes from sunrise to sunset. The sun was another way the bathes were heated. Most bathhouses were made out of fireproof terracotta bricks to keep the furnace from setting the building on fire. Marble floors and mosaic tiled walls were among the items that made the bathes so luxurious, along with statues and sculptures. This topic is interesting because usually when we learn about history, the hygiene part of it is never brought up. Bathing is apart of every day life even today. The differences between now and then are that we have individual private bathes in our home. Some homes, depending on wealth, can have eight one person baths! That's a lot of bathes! There are not only differences, there are many similarities. Today we have gyms where people can bathe, enter a heat room, and exercise. This is what makes gyms similar to ancient bathhouses. Bathhouses were originally apart of Greek life. The Romans took the idea of bathhouses and improved them. In Greek mythology, bathhouses are seen a lot.
         A word I found was Denarri, which is the smallest denomination of brown coinage. For my final product, I made a rap to sum up all the cool details about bathhouses! Enjoy! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Q47oYj0V9a6cZfwtkDO2OLpMSmN6Gf57_FBzdG-HRYg/edit?usp=sharing

Sources:
source 1-  Connolly, Peter, and Hazel Dodge. The Ancient City: Life in Classical Athens & Rome. Oxford: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.
source 2-  Davis, William Stearns. A Day in Old Rome; a Picture of Roman Life. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1925. Print.

source 3- "Roman Baths." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2015.

source 4- "Roman Baths." Roman Baths. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Jan. 2015.