Herculaneum: Central Baths for Men

 If you're just joining us on our tour of Herculaneum, I would suggest you read the post on the Central Baths for Women first. It contains some background information that would be useful here in the men's baths.

 Men entered their area through the men's waiting room (A) which leads to the men's cold bath (B) and finally into the men's hot bath (C). D, E and F are all part of the women's baths. For some reason, I labeled the Central Baths / Palaestra as Thermae on this map.

 In the men's waiting room is a sink for washing hands and, to the left, a basin for washing feet. Light is supplied through a hole in the roof.

 A close-up of the impressive floor.

 As in the women's waiting room, there are cubes above for storing clothes and seats below. During excavations, the remains of four men and one woman were found on the shelf shown. They were evidently seeking refuge from the deluge that Mount Vesuvius had bestowed upon them that fateful day.

 A close-up of the basin for washing hands.

 Now, let's walk through the short doorway into the men's cold bath.

 As discussed in the women's baths, the walls held pipes for hot air and the floor was hollow so hot air could circulate there also. Unfortunately, the floor has collapsed in the cold room of the men's baths.

 Thankfully, Italy has roped off the most delicate area so us tourists won't do any more damage.

 This room also has some storage and a small built-in bench.

The one good thing about the floor collapse is that we can see how the hollow floor worked. There is ample room for air to circulate underneath.

 Note that the mosaic in the men's cold bath is virtually identical to the mosaic in the women's waiting room.

 One more shot showing the extent of the collapse as well as the hollowness of the floor.

 As with the women's bath, the room contained a barrel ceiling for the reasons given before. The doorway seen in this photo leads back to the waiting room.

 In the men's hot bath, the barrel roof has completely collapsed. I do not know if this is due to the early tunnelers or the weight of the mud. I do know the early tunnelers removed virtually all of the boiler and related pipes from the back room.

Purpose of this area TBD.

 A close-up of what remains of the barrel roof.

 This shot shows the depth of construction on the original roof.

 Built-in seating.

The bathtub itself in the men's hot bath.

 A close-up to show you the condition of the area.

Water is a problem due to the missing roof.

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