The Introduction of Roman Baths in the Provinces
Presented by Amanda Hardman
Event Details
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Friday, April 22, 2022
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
zoom
Room: Zoom
Cost: Free
The Trent University Archaeological Research Centre (TUARC) presents: The Introduction of Roman Baths in the Provinces by Amanda Hardman (Zoom)
Abstract: Described by the Roman historian Tacitus (Agricola 21) as one of the Roman vices to which the indigenous British populations were exposed under the general Agricola, Roman public baths were a ubiquitous architectural feature of the Roman provincial landscape across the empire. These public bathing facilities, however, were not forced upon local provincial populations nor were they passively received. Instead, archaeological and literary evidence demonstrates that these populations adopted and adapted certain elements of these facilities to fit the needs of their environment and society. For the elites and urban inhabitants of these provinces, Roman baths were a means by which they could participate in the shared cultural practices of the emerging pan‐Mediterranean society. Following a general introduction to Roman baths and bathing, this talk will explore the adoption and adaption of Roman‐style baths in the provinces, drawing on case studies from across the Roman Empire. This talk will also include a discussion of the integration of Roman baths in the region of Greece where public bathing practices had existed prior to the Roman period, and it will consider how the local inhabitants integrated this new form of bath into their urban environments.
TUARC is a unique research institute that manages academic and research facilities for professional archaeologists, researchers, graduate students, and volunteers. We sponsor workshops and special courses on archaeology. Research facilities include specialized laboratories for human osteology, Mesoamerican archaeology, Ontario archaeology, palaeo-DNA studies, South American archaeology, archaeoinformatics (including Geographical Information Systems [GIS], remote sensing, spatial and quantitative analysis) and zooarchaeology. TUARC assists with the publication of the findings of associated scholars, and organizes public lectures on recent archaeological discoveries and advances.
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