Archaeologists have discovered a well-preserved Roman bathroom in the underwater ruins of Baiae, a resort of a resort that was once part of the Roman Empire. According to the report, the ruins may be the first physical evidence of the famous villa of the Roman orator, politician and philosopher Marcus Tullius Tullius Cicero. Legacy every day.
Located on the northwest coast of the Gulf of Naples, Baiae is widely popular among the Roman elite, including treatments related to sulfur springs such as Livy, Marius, Lucullus, Julius Caesar and Augustus. The city, characterized by the Roman poet Sextus Propertius, is both a “vortex of luxury” and a “harbor of bad habits” and also attracts emperors such as Nero and Hadrian, who died in 138 AD in his villa in Baiae.
Eventually, the city’s geological instability was a phenomenon known as a volcanic bridge between the 16th and 18th centuries, sliding it below the sea surface.
The bathroom is only ten feet underwater and includes a full mosaic floor supported by small brick pillars. This was originally part of the premium Roman heating system Slingwhere hot air flows under the floor and in hollow wall tiles, or Tubecreate a sauna-like space called laconicum. This type of system is consistent with the elite Roman bathroom complex.
As the traces of ancient murals suggest, the spaces will be decorated with luxury. The team is currently working on the ceramic fragments from the site to learn more about the bathroom.
Classical sources suggest that Cicero has a villa in Baiae. Archaeologists have not confirmed whether the hot bath complex is part of the villa.
This fall, laconicum In the bathroom, restoration will be done, including cleaning the mosaic floor and protecting the rest of the murals. Archaeologists have been working at the site since the first discovery in 2023.
