Rural Baths in Roman Britain

This book explores the function and socio-cultural significance of rural bathhouses, seeking to redefine our understanding of the relationships between these buildings and the identities of the communities residing in the countryside of Roman Britain.

Giacomo Savani is a Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Leeds. His research explores the adoption and adaptation of Roman culture across different spaces and times, focusing on bathing as a vector of political, social, and cultural interactions. He has published extensively on the reception of Roman baths in antiquarian texts and works of art, and he is currently working on the role of ancient hydrotherapy in creating gender-specific medical knowledge.

1. Introduction; 2. An Ambiguous Heritage: Eighteenth- and Nineteenth-Century Archaeology; 3. Villas and Rural Baths; 4. Early Rural Baths: A Colonisation of the Senses; 5. A Costly Showcase 1: Building and Maintaining a Set of Baths; 6. A Costly Showcase 2: Decorating the Baths; 7. Prestige and Competition in Late Roman Britain; 8. Conclusion.