Spas In Roman Times

What is the "spa"?

The word "spa" is rooted in the Latin language and means "salus per aquam." For those of you who are not very polished on your Latin, that means "health from water." "Spa" is also the name of a small village in Belgium where hot mineral springs were discovered by ancient Romans and used by soldiers to treat aching muscles and wounds from battle.

When?

It is unclear when the Romans used the first public bath, but during the reign of Caesar Augustus from 27 B.C. to 14 A.D., there were approximately 170 baths throughout Rome.At this time, citizens of Rome began to view baths as a way of providing rest, relaxation, and solace to all people, not just those weary of war.

Spa in England

In 70 A.D., the Romans built a spa and dedicated it, as a shrine consisting of a reservoir around the hot springs at Bath, in what is now England, a complex series of baths, and a temple, to the honor of the goddess Sulis Minerva. As the Roman Empire grew, so did the number of public baths. By the year 300 A.D., there were over 900 baths throughout the empire. The oldest Roman spa still in existence today is located in Merano, Italy, providing evidence of the idea that the Romans used natural springs in an organized manner to provide treatments.

Types of Spa

After exercising, bathers entered the tepidarium, a room where they would prepare for their bath. The first step was to remove the oil from their body. Oil was used as a substitute for soap, which was reserved for only the very wealthy in ancient Rome, then scraped off with an implement known as a strigil, removing dirt and grime with it. Upon completing this step, bathers were ready to enter the caladarium. This room was very hot and filled with steam, created by sunken pools of hot water. Some baths also included a room that was very hot and dry, very much like our modern day saunas, called a laconicum. Visits to the hot rooms were followed by a visit to the frigidarium. As the name implies, this room was cold and served to close pores that were open from sweating in the hot rooms. This room also frequently contained either a small pool of cold water for washing away sweat or a large pool of cold water for swimming. These rooms also provided patrons with the opportunity to receive massages with perfumed oils.

Romans used a system of furnaces called a hypocaust for heating baths. The floor of the bath was raised off the ground by numerous