Tuesday, December 16, 2008

The Roman Bath House built by the conquerors of Brittania


The Roman Bath House
Originally uploaded by davidlkel
In the Macaualay movie Roman City we must note the following:

* Roman Legion (about 5000 troops)
* SPQR - Sign held above the marching Legions; it meant "The Senate and the People of Rome."

* Insulae ("islands") - apartment buildings as developed by the Romans.
Three or 4 stories; built of brick and concrete.

*concrete - a development of Roman engineers.

* slavery in Rome - defeated neighbors of Rome were taken as slaves and Roman society, like Greek society, depended on slave labor in regards keeping a high standard of living. A typical slave: a well-educated Greek fellow might be taken as a house slave and used as a teacher for the family.

*Thermae ("heated") - public baths. At a bath you could
- exercise
- eat lunch
- read the news
- have the laundry washed and folded
- meet business partners
- bathe and relax
The pool rooms included the Caldarium (hot aquarium), Tepidarium (lukewarm) and Frigidarium (cold).

An atrium is the part of a house or building that is open to the sky or open to a high vertical space. A Roman town house had
- walls surrounding the complex
- a garden in the back
- an arbor so that vines could grow to provide shade.
- an impluvium - a pool to catch rainwater.

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