Roman Baths in Antarctica

Roman baths were extremely popular during the Roman Empire's reign on Europe and part of Africa. But what would one of those baths look like, if it was built during the modern times in Antarctica?

First off, the baths I created were based off of the one in Aquae Sulis. This was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today the town in known as Bath in Somerset. The town's most famous aspect was its baths which began being built in the AD 60s. ("Aquae Sulis"). "From the thermal spring flowed the sacred water of the Celtic spirit Sulis, whom the Romans identified with Minerva, the goddess of healing" (Watney 13). These baths are dedicated to Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom. Roman and Celtic mythology relate to each other, which shows just how close the two groups of people have become. These baths, by a Romano-Celtic collaboration, is just one of many other key additions to the Roman lifestyle. The impact these baths had was so prominent, there is even a resort and spa named after it.


Bathing in ancient Roman times was a necessity. However, there was no soap. This product, vital to traditional bathing today, was not used in the same purpose. Soap was first mentioned by Pliny in the first century AD, "soap is also good; an invention of the Gallic provinces for making the hair red, it is made from suet and ash in two kinds - the best from beech ash and goat suet" (Rook 8). Soap was not used for allegedly changing the color of hair. There was a tool, however called the strigil, for cleaning their bodies. The tool was curved and its purpose is to scrape off the dirt and grime.

Inside most Roman baths, there was three different temperature rooms. There was a frigidarium, a cold bath, a tepidarium, a warm bath, and a caldarium, a hot bath. A visitor would first enter the tepidarium which would prepare him or her for entering the caldarium. After entering the caldarium a slave would rub olive oil over the visitor's skin and scrape it off with a strigil ("Roman Baths").

However, building a bath in present day Antarctica would be quite a challenge as Antarctica so desolate and unexplored. People only visit for tourism and for research, so it would be difficult to make a lot of money.

Link to pictures of product:

As you have seen, my bath is quite small, able to maximize space, as not to disrupt the wildlife on the South Pole. I also added in my PowerPoint, explanations aspects of my baths.

Works Cited

"Aquae Sulis." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 16 July 2014. Web. 21 Dec. 2014. "Roman Baths." Roman Baths. HistoryLearningSite.co.uk. Web. 21 Dec. 2014.
Rook, Tony. Roman Baths in Britain. Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire, UK: Shire Publications, 1992.        Print.
Watney, John. Roman Britain. Andover: Pitkin, 1996. Print.