This album has a distinction of being the very first one uploaded on this website. It happened on January 30, 2023, so we can consider this day the birthdate of kovynev.ca
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If you enter the Pompeii Archaeological Park from the main entrance next to the train station, the city will start for you with this road. It leads to the city gate from the harbour, which back then was 2 km closer than the shoreline today.There in the back is the city gate, Porta Marina ("The Seaside Gate").Remains of the walls alongside the road.A beautiful sample of Roman masonry.Before entering the city itself, we stop at Terme Suburbane ("Suburban Baths"), built right next to the city walls. Suburban in Latin actually means "outside of the city walls".This bathing house was designed for travelers and fishermen coming either from the seaport, or by the river, which flowed right here, in this lush green basin. The river completely disappeared after the eruption, and we don′t even know what was its name.The bathhouse had a courtyard, which could have been used by the customers for working out (as in, athletic exercise), before bathing.Remains of the exterior decorations. Just try to imagine, how fancy this building looked in its initial state.The first room inside is apodyterium - the entrance hall, or changing room, where customers could leave their clothes in lockers, pretty much like in a gym today. (Our guide Anna is pointing something with her red umbrella).Apodyterium was not only for undressing. This was a reception area, where a client would order specific services that they require. And the frescoes on the walls were essentially visual aids for that purpose, something like the big screens with the menu in a McDonald′s.As you can see, a client could get some other services besides bathing, here. And no awkward conversations were required. Just point to a picture and say "I want that one!"But the frescos could be perfectly innocuous too.An example of Pompeian masonry above the passage from apodyterium into the inner bath halls.This one was called frigidarium - a "cool" hall, designed more for relaxing and socializing, rather than washing. Sort of a lounge.For that reason, frigidarium usually was the most lavishly decorated hall in the bath house. You can see, how beautiful this one is, even though this was a "lower grade" bathhouse for sailors and fishermen, not some chic place.Frigidarium usually had nymphaeum (a shrine devoted to water nymphs), adjacent to it.Since it was devoted to WATER nymphs, nymphaeum always had some sort of a water feature. In this case, it was a cascaded fountain, flowing down those (now dry) steps right into frigidarium, providing coolness of the running water and a certain ambience.The fountain is very intricately decorated too, with a mosaic depicting Cupids handing over weapons to Mars. (Which constitutes child abuse, if you ask me).The walls of nymphaeum were plastered and frescoed.Obviously, the theme of the frescoes is nautical - ships (probably, galleys), seals, dolphins, and whatnot.The next room is laconicum - a very hot, dry steam room, like a sauna. Now we are talking business.The remains of the frescoes on the walls of laconicum. No wonder, they did not age well, with all this heat and steam.Mosaics on the floor of laconicum.This is caldarium ("a hot room"). Not as hot as laconicum, but definitely not as cool and nonchalant as frigidarium either. This was the main bath hall, designed for actual bathing. It was equipped with a hot tub (sitting right there in this little alcove) and an outside pool.The large windows of caldarium opened onto the river, which was once flowing right below the brick wall. So while you were soaking in the hot tub, you could enjoy the sight of the boats floating by.The outside swimming pool, adjacent to caldarium, so bathers could cool off after the hot bath. (People you see working in this area are the archeologists, who are constantly cleaning up the stones.)The swimming pool had a sophisticated water heating system - sort of a furnace in a pit, covered with a round metal plate. The furnace would warm up the plate, which would warm the water. Funny enough, this system is called by the modern archeologists "samovar" (as in that fancy Russian kettle).Press ESC to exit
