Caldarium

Presentation

The caldarium could have a round or rectangular form, with one or more warm water basins, or of the individual bath-tubs. The architects built it in general southern part or south-west of the thermal baths, to benefit from the contribution of natural heat of the sun.

In the oldest baths, simple braziers placed in caldarium got heat. The Romans generalized a system of underfloor heating, the Hypocauste. The ground of caldarium was made of a cover of Béton, the will suspensura , resting on piles out of square bricks or rounds above an empty space intended for the circulation of the hot air. This heating system could be supplemented by terra cotta pipes ( tubuli ) in the walls, which made go up the hot air coming from the Hypocauste.

At the time of archaeological excavations, the presence of these terra cotta elements (bricks of piles of support or pipes) makes it possible to identify a caldarium , and thus of the thermal baths.

The temperature reached in a caldarium is estimated by deduction: the temperature of the modern hammams is about 35°C, that of a Sauna can reach 70°C. It is known that the Romans were to fit sandals with wood sole to circulate in a caldarium without burning itself. Certain authors thus think the temperature reached in a caldarium at 50/55°C.

See too

Tepidarium : part of the thermal baths where one can take the tepid baths
Frigidarium: part of the thermal baths where one can take the cold baths.

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