A
frigidarium is a large cold pool to drop into after enjoying a hot
Roman bathThe terms balnea or thermae were the words the ancient Romans used for the buildings housing their public baths.Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were centers of public bathing and socialization. Baths were extremely important for Romans. They stayed there for...
. The
Caldariumright|thumb|230px|Caldarium from the Roman Baths at [[Bath, England]]. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor....
and the
TepidariumThe tepidarium was the warm bathroom of the Roman baths heated by a hypocaust or underfloor heating system.The specialty of a tepidarium is the pleasant feeling of constant radiant heat which directly affects the human body from the walls and floor.There is an interesting example at Pompeii; this...
opened the pores of the skin. The cold water would close the
porePore may refer to:In animal biology and microbiology:* Sweat pore, an anatomical structure of the skin of humans used for secretion of sweat...
s. There would be a small pool of cold water or sometimes a large
Swimming poolA swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is an artificially enclosed body of water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest and deepest is the Olympic size...
.
An octagonal example measuring over 5m across was excavated at Bax Farm, near
FavershamFaversham is a town in Kent, England, in the district of Swale, roughly halfway between Sittingbourne and Canterbury. The parish of Faversham includes an ancient sea port and market town, some 48 miles east of London, off the London to Dover A2 road, 18 miles east north-east of...
,
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
in 2006. This had a large
brickA brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using mortar.-History:The oldest shaped bricks found date back to 7,500 B.C. They have been found in Çayönü, in the upper Tigris region, and in south east Anatolia close to Diyarbakir. Other more recent findings,...
conduitA conduit is a general term for a means of conveying something from one location to another or between persons.Examples of conduits:* Waterways * Channels for carrying water or other fluids...
for supplying cold water.
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A
frigidarium is a large cold pool to drop into after enjoying a hot
Roman bathThe terms balnea or thermae were the words the ancient Romans used for the buildings housing their public baths.Most Roman cities had at least one, if not many, such buildings, which were centers of public bathing and socialization. Baths were extremely important for Romans. They stayed there for...
. The
Caldariumright|thumb|230px|Caldarium from the Roman Baths at [[Bath, England]]. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor....
and the
TepidariumThe tepidarium was the warm bathroom of the Roman baths heated by a hypocaust or underfloor heating system.The specialty of a tepidarium is the pleasant feeling of constant radiant heat which directly affects the human body from the walls and floor.There is an interesting example at Pompeii; this...
opened the pores of the skin. The cold water would close the
porePore may refer to:In animal biology and microbiology:* Sweat pore, an anatomical structure of the skin of humans used for secretion of sweat...
s. There would be a small pool of cold water or sometimes a large
Swimming poolA swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is an artificially enclosed body of water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest and deepest is the Olympic size...
.
An octagonal example measuring over 5m across was excavated at Bax Farm, near
FavershamFaversham is a town in Kent, England, in the district of Swale, roughly halfway between Sittingbourne and Canterbury. The parish of Faversham includes an ancient sea port and market town, some 48 miles east of London, off the London to Dover A2 road, 18 miles east north-east of...
,
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
in 2006. This had a large
brickA brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using mortar.-History:The oldest shaped bricks found date back to 7,500 B.C. They have been found in Çayönü, in the upper Tigris region, and in south east Anatolia close to Diyarbakir. Other more recent findings,...
conduitA conduit is a general term for a means of conveying something from one location to another or between persons.Examples of conduits:* Waterways * Channels for carrying water or other fluids...
for supplying cold water. The walls were originally decorated with painted
plasterThe term plaster can refer to plaster of Paris , lime plaster, or cement plaster. This article deals mainly with plaster of Paris / gypsum plaster....
, and the floors with coloured
tesserae. This is the first example to be found in south-east
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It had been suggested that the octagonal
frigidarium could have been used for
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
baptismIn Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the...
or Jewish sacred bathing (Pitts, 2006).