Roman Baths in Britain
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| Author | Tony Rook |
|---|---|
| Pages | 64 |
Roman Baths in Britain by Tony Rook
Author: Tony Rook
Format: Paperback, 15cm x 21cm, 64 pages
Illustrations: B&W
Category: Roman Britain History
Roman Baths in Britain by Tony Rook is a 64-page, softback guide (15cm x 21cm) filled with black-and-white illustrations that explore one of the most iconic elements of Roman life: the bathhouse. The Romans were passionate bathers, building impressive and sophisticated bathing complexes across Britain, and many of these structures can still be explored today.
This book explains how Roman baths were designed, constructed, and used, offering clear insights into their architecture, engineering, and social purpose. Because bathhouses were well-built and often set below ground level, their remains survive better than those of many other Roman structures. This makes them some of the most recognisable and informative archaeological features in Britain.
Tony Rook guides readers through the development of Roman bathing culture, the structure of bath buildings, and the characteristic materials used in their construction. The book also includes a gazetteer of sites, helping readers locate surviving examples of Roman baths across the country.
Perfect for history enthusiasts, archaeology students, Roman Britain researchers, and metal detectorists looking to understand settlement patterns and activity areas.
Key Topics Covered
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List of illustrations
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Introduction
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Architectural development
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The structure of baths
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Gazetteer of sites
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Further reading
From the Back Cover
Roman Baths in Britain
Almost every Roman site in Britain seems to have had its baths. They needed to be strongly built and, to a large extent, were constructed below contemporary ground level. As a result, the remains of Roman baths have resisted demolition and subsequent damage by the plough. The uses of most rooms on many Roman sites can only be guessed at, but baths are an exception. We can imagine how, and in what environment, the Romans and their slaves bathed. Despite great variation in plan, bathing establishments are easily recognised, as are the characteristic materials used in their construction. The purpose of this book is to explain how Roman baths came to be built, how they were constructed, how they were used, and how they worked. There is a gazetteer of sites where baths can be seen.
About the Author
Tony Rook is a building technologist and an Extramural Tutor in Archaeology, a Member of the Institute of Field Archaeologists and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. His first degree was in Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics. After six years in building research and ten as Head of Science in a secondary school, he entered the London Institute of Archaeology, where he researched Roman baths for his Master of Philosophy degree. He has been an enthusiastic independent archaeologist since, as a boy in the 1940s, he joined a team excavating bombed sites at Canterbury. He has directed the Welwyn Archaeological Society in the field since 1960. His many reports include that on Dicket Mead, the Roman villa whose baths he successfully preserved in a vault under the A1(M) motorway at Welwyn, Hertfordshire.