Just kidding! I don't even have a bathtub! Then again, neither did most Roman homes (except the really fancy ones.) Most of them relied on public baths, which were plentiful, cheap, and very well decorated. These shots are from the Women's Bath in Herculaneum, one of several large bathhouses that are preserved there. Unlike Hollywood's lurid depiction of loose morals and prolific sex, Romans were actually fairly modest, and most baths were segregated by sexes.
One feature I have noticed in several of the baths there are the ridged ceilings, which are not only attractive to the eye, but they also serve to keep water from dripping on one's head (by funneling it down to troughs on the wall.) Very nice when your in the caldarium (hot room) where the drips can sting quite a bit, especially on your head!
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| Mosaic floor in the women's bath house at Herculaneum. |
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| Room with a large communal tub and a vaulted plaster ceiling. |
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The ridges serve to channel condensing water down to the moldings on the walls- away from your head!
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| Changing area had shelves for setting your things on and benches to change on. |
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