Baths of Trajan
By: Zhuan Liang
Baths of Trajan |
Baths of Trajan's location on city map |
The Baths of Trajan covers an area of 330 by 215
meters, the fourth monumental bathing complex constructed for citizens. Unlike
most of the existing bath complexes, the Baths of Trajan sits on a northeast-
southwest axis, where the main building faces the northeast side; this
orientation was chosen because the architect wants to take advantage of the
exposure to the sun throughout the day and to reduce the bathers’ exposure to
the wind. (3)
In
comparison with the earlier public bathing complexes, Baths of Trajan is more
advance at the layout of the system, where all the facilities within are well
organized and more sophisticated heating systems were used to run the hot and
warm rooms. The earlier baths uses braziers, but the baths after 1st
century BCE uses wood burning furnaces to maximize efficiency because the warm
heat created were sent under the raised floors that stand on pillars. For Baths
of Trajan, the architect also used a special brick known as tegulae mammatae at
corners that block the hot air and sent them to the hot rooms. (2)
Interior of baths |
The interior of the Baths of Trajan was well planed-
out, it includes the common court yard like feature of the entrance with grassy
area where people use as a gathering/ meeting place and is one of the spots
where both genders interact and be engaged in conversation and other
activities. Then is the construction of the apodyteria or changing rooms, which
leads to the tepidarium which were the warm rooms, and then the caldarium which
were the hot rooms and lastly the frigidarium or the cold rooms. The Baths of
Trajan also includes a gymnasia, spa service, massage treatments, library and
space to hold scrolls and manuscripts. Underground, the complex includes a
massive cistern and the seven rooms that were capable of holding no less than
eight million liters of water. (1)
Plan of Baths of Trajan |
These roman bath facilities contributed to
architecture through its monumental size. These structures also showed the
earliest known dome shape construction that helps circulate the large airy
rooms. In addition, the concrete used in forms of stiff mortared rubble allowed
unsupported walls to be built with greater distances apart. (2)
Sources:
- "Ancient Roman Baths- Thermae, Baths of- Caracalla, Diocletian, Trajan- Crystalinks." Ancient Roman Baths- Thermae, Baths of Caracalla, Diocletian, Trajan- Crystalinks. N. p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016
- Cartweight, Mark. "Roman Baths." Ancient History Enclopedia. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2013. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
- MacDonald, William L. The Architecture of the Roman Empire. New Haven: Yale UP, 1982. Print.
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