In the Monty Python film “The Life of Brian” there is a famous scene when the leader of the Jewish rebels asks “what have the Romans done for us?” One of the many things they bring that is pointed out to him is the establishment of public health. For a while in the first 5 centuries AD it was thought to be a very good idea to have a wash now and again with a bit more regularity than once a month. This view sadly falls away come the Dark Ages and lasts pretty much until up to the end of the Eighteenth Century. For a time, the Bathhouse was an essential part of Romano-British life and there are even some examples still up today. We now know that cleanliness is essential to keeping bugs and diseases at bay and a working boiler is vital to this to provide you with a warm home and hot water. A Boiler Installation Cheltenham or any other part of the country will be able to help with any issues that you have with your boiler and install a new system for you in no time. You can find Boiler Installation services provided by the combi man if you are in need of expert help.
It was not a case of a quick dip and done. In fact, it was a chance to socialise and do business and trade deals with other like-minded people or catch up on news and gossip. If you were lucky you might have a private one in your Villa such as the 3 they have in Chedworth Roman Villa. Otherwise it was a communal one like the grand and famous one at Bath. The use of soap was not a feature of the bath and when you went there for one you needed to book in for a lengthy process.
Upon arrival you would remove your toga and start with a bit of limber up in the gymnasium first. Once the blood is flowing, not too much it is time for a trip to a cold bath. In you go to get the first initial muck of you. As this water is generally freezing you don’t stay in too long. The next stage is for a slave or paid attendant to apply a nice mixture of herbs and olive oil to your skin. This is the soap equivalent and once it’s all good and applied a blunt metal hook called a “strigle” is used to scrape off the excess. It’s now time for popping into a warm or hot bath to get those pores good and opened up so that all the muck and sweat of the day comes out of you and mixes in to what is left of the olive oil.
It was the work of a slave to get the water nice and hot and this basically involved shoving huge amounts of wood into a burner so that the hot air wafted through the hypocaust. After this little sojourn it was time to get out and finish off the whole experience by jumping into the cold bath again. The pores slam shut and you’ve just spent 3 wonderful hours.
