Procedures: For the last two weeks of the research season, I was assisting with the excavation of the Caldarium in the Great Bath site. Due to the fact that we were working with a tight schedule, our procedures differed slightly from my previous experience in the Acropolis. Most of our time spent in the caldarium consisted of working to level the ground, articulate defining features, and remove wall fall and damage. We were primarily focused on peeling down layers of the surface and documenting finds within, basing most of our loci off of soil changes within the stratigraphy.
Findings: We uncovered hypocausts and pilae throughout the caldarium, and although we believed that they were only in the eastern half of the unit, some were uncovered more towards the center and western half. Several large amphora sherds were found concentrated along the side of the apsidal wall in the eastern half of the unit. Bones were also found throughout the unit, suggesting that they were used as floor fill. A large amount of glass was found by the southern wall of the unit as well as the western side. What was originally suspected to be a western wall was later determined to be ceiling collapse and debris, and the findings suggest that there was potentially a window in each section. The concentration of glass in those two areas indicates that it was not part of trash fill for the floor, but rather was likely part of the construction. Special finds included a knife blade, the capital of a marble column, and a bronze key. Two of the most intriguing finds were large quantities of bronze rivetments and sizable slabs of marble veneer. In other cases also evident throughout the site as whole, the bronze and marble likely would have been recycled and used in other building projects. The fact that so much remained in one location is interesting, and works well with the theory that the earthquake damage was potentially so severe that the debris was unable to be pulled out. Before the end of our time in the caldarium, we uncovered pieces of a tile floor and believe that we likely hit the surface that the hypocausts would have rested on.
Theories: The mosaics and the nature of their positioning were one factor that ended up introducing more questions than answers. The stone slabs that the tesserae were arranged on were incredibly thick and heavy, possibly making them ill-suited to heating a room efficiently for where they were placed. There were several pieces that had flipped upside down and sandwiched themselves on top of another mosaic chunk, suggesting either a violent collapse or later movement. Our most substantiated theory, as mentioned, is that an earthquake damaged the bath beyond repair and the area was later repurposed into an industrial complex. The ash layer was noted to be particularly interesting in comparison to other similar sites that members of the team, including Dr. Rice, had worked on. It was incredibly patchy and uneven throughout the unit, and led us to believe that there is a possibility that the earthquake hit while the fires that heated the room were active. The timeline of the caldarium’s use and eventual collapse is one of the biggest questions that we were working to understand throughout the excavation, and the evidence that we gathered in the time we had will hopefully contribute to building up the bigger picture of the Great Bath and the people who spent their time there.