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Bathhouse, Cuicul, North Africa (4th Century)*

Artist/Designer: Islamic, North African

Project Location: Tunisia

Figure 1: Schematized plan of Cuicul with the location of the baths (after Leschi 1953: general plan). ( Source | Accessed : March 3, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )
Figure 2: Symbols for the layouts ( Source | Accessed : March 3, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )
Figure 3: The baths of the House of Europe in Cuicul (after Blanchard-Lemée 1975) ( Source | Accessed : March 3, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )
Figure 4: The baths of the House of Europe in Cuicul (after Blanchard-Lemée 1975) ( Source | Accessed : March 3, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )
Figure 5: The baths of the House of the Donkey in Cuicul (after Blanchard-Lemée 1978 ( Source | Accessed : March 3, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )
Figure 6: The baths of the House of Castorius in Cuicul (after Blanchard-Lemée 1975) ( Source | Accessed : March 3, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )
Figure 7: The baths in Sidi Ghrib (after Ennabli 1986) ( Source | Accessed : March 3, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )
Figure 8: The baths at Oued Athmenia (after Poulle 1878) ( Source | Accessed : March 3, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )
Figure 9: The baths in Henchir Safi a (after Lassus 1959) ( Source | Accessed : March 3, 2020 | Photographer: Unknown )

Style/Period(s):
Vernacular

Primary Material(s):
Stone

Function(s):
Health Facility

Related Website(s):

Bathing culture of Middle East Essay | Accessed : June 5, 2020
Public Baths and Bathing Habits in Late Antiquity | Accessed : December 1, 2020
Princeton Encyclopedia | Accessed : December 1, 2020
Abandoned Spaces Post | Accessed : December 1, 2020
Ancient Post | Accessed : December 1, 2020

Significant Date(s):
4th Century

Additional Information:
Examining the survival, transformation, and eventual decline of Roman public baths and bathing habits in Italy, North Africa, and Palestine during Late Antiquity. Through the analysis of archaeological remains, ancient literature, inscriptions, and papyri, the continued importance of bathhouses as social hubs within the urban fabric are demonstrated, thus radically altering common misconceptions of their decline through the rise of Christianity and elite seclusion. Persistent ideas about health and hygiene, as well as perpetuating ideas of civic self-esteem, drove people to build, restore, and praise these focal points of daily life when other classical buildings were left to crumble.

Publications/ Texts in print:

Bertolazzi, Riccardo. "From the CIL Archives (II): A New Statue Base from Lambaesis (Algeria)." Zeitschrift Für Papyrologie Und Epigraphik 188 (2014): 284-86.

Kelly, Amanda. "ROMAN BATHHOUSES ON CRETE AS INDICATORS OF CULTURAL TRANSITION: THE DYNAMICS OF ROMAN INFLUENCE." Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies. Supplement, no. 120 (2013): 131-67.

Mandich, Matthew J., Thomas J. Derrick, Sergio Gonzalez Sanchez, Giacomo Savani, and Eleonora Zampieri, eds. TRAC 2015: Proceedings of the 25th Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference. Oxford; Philadelphia: Oxbow Books, 2016.

Maréchal, Sadi. “Public and Private Bathing in Late Antique North Africa.: Changing Habits in a Changing Society?” TRAC 2015: Proceedings of the 25th Annual Theoretical Roman Archaeology Conference, edited by Matthew J. Mandich et al., Oxbow Books, Oxford; Philadelphia, 2016, pp. 125–140. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1kw29qk.12. Accessed 3 Mar. 2020.

Olin, Laurie. "Algerian Journal: Among the Ruins of Provincial Rome." SiteLINES: A Journal of Place 11, no. 2 (2016): 7-11.


Building Address: Multiple locations in Cuicul

Significant Dates: 1878-1978

Tags: Public baths, Bathing Habits, Late Antiquity, Hammam, Roman Bath, Archeological sites,, Bath culture, Bathing culture, Bathing, aqueous, hygiene, hygienic, health, North Africa, Tunisia, Africa, Roman,

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