VII.5.7 Pompeii. Forum Baths boiler area. Excavated 1823.

Other parts of the baths:   VII.5.2      VII.5.8      VII.5.10      VII.5.12      VII.5.24      VII.6.17      VII.6.18      Forum Baths Plan

Via delle Terme, south side, Pompeii. March 2019. Looking east from entrance doorway at VII.5.7, on right.

Foto Taylor Lauritsen, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.

Via delle Terme, south side, Pompeii. March 2019. Looking from VII.5.7, on left, towards corner of wall with VII.5.8, on right.

Foto Taylor Lauritsen, ERC Grant 681269 DÉCOR.

VII.5.7 Pompeii. May 2011.

Looking south towards entrance doorway (no. 26 on plan). Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

VII.5.7 Pompeii. December 2007. Entrance 26 to Forum Baths boiler area. 

VII.5.7 Pompeii. May 2005. Entrance to Forum Baths boiler area. 

Found in February 1824 on the second pilaster of bricks….. (on the right), painted in red were –

M(arcum)  [V]esonium

Marcellum  [     [CIL IV 273]

M(arcum)  Cerrinium  [V]a[tia]m

aed(ilem)  saccari  rog(ant)       [CIL IV 274]

A(uli)  Suetti  Cer[ti  familia  gladiatorial  pugnabit(?)     CIL IV 1191

Also found between VII.5.7 and 8 in July 1824 was –

M(arcum)  C(errinium)  V(atiam)  v(irum)  b(onum)  aed(ilem)  o(ro)  v(os)  f(aciatis)  Colepius

rog(at)    [CIL IV 246]

See Pagano, M. and Prisciandaro, R., 2006. Studio sulle provenienze degli oggetti rinvenuti negli scavi borbonici del regno di Napoli. Naples: Nicola Longobardi, p.128 and p.130.

According to Della Corte, the noble Colepius [CIL IV 246 above, and Note 1 on p.117] was not well-known outside of Pompeii.

He thought that probably the family house was on the Via degli Augustali, because of the other similar recommendations found there.

See Della Corte, M., 1965. Case ed Abitanti di Pompei. Napoli: Fausto Fiorentino. (p.116-7)

VII.5.7 Pompeii. May 2011. Looking south from entrance (26) across the furnace room (25).

Remains of praefurnium front (27) between the men’s and women’s baths. 

Photo courtesy of Michael Binns.

VII.5.7 Pompeii. December 2007. Remains of furnace room (25) praefurnium (27) between the men’s and women’s baths. 

The steps (no. 31 on plan) give access to corridor (32) which ran alongside the boiler area.

Half way up the corridor (32) branched right and continued into courtyard (33) where fuel and materials were stored.

Niccolini describes the furnace rooms and shows them on his plan as (See Forum Baths Plan)

No. 24, Corridor from men’s changing room, leading to furnace and boiler room.

No. 25, Room of the furnaces.

No. 26, Doorway to furnace room from Via delle Terme.

No. 27, Praefurnium or furnace.

No. 28, Boiler for hot water (for caldarium).

No. 29, Boiler for warm water (for tepidarium).

No. 30, Tank for keeping cold water in.

No. 31, Stairs leading up to boilers.

No. 32, Small corridor that leads from the boilers to the stores courtyard.

No. 33, Stores courtyard, for keeping the wood, charcoal, etc.

No. 34, Column supporting the roof of the courtyard.

No. 35, Steps that went up to the roof of the courtyard.

No. 36, Doorway that led onto Vicolo delle Terme (now entrance at VII.5.10)

See Niccolini F, 1890. Le case ed i monumenti di Pompei: Volume Terzo. Napoli.

VII.5.7 Pompeii. May 2005. Praefurnium or furnace room between the men’s and women’s baths.

The corridor (24) from the men’s changing room (14) was on the left in front of the praefurnium feed.

Behind the praefurnium were (in sequence)

Boiler (28) for hot water (for caldarium).

Boiler (29) for warm water (for tepidarium).

Large tank (30) for keeping cold water in.

VII.5.7 Pompeii. December 2007. Looking south towards remains of cistern (30) to end of praefurnium or furnace room. 

VII.5.7 Pompeii. December 2007. Remains of staircase on west side of entrance (26) to Forum Baths boiler area. 

VII.5.7 Pompeii. December 2007. Wall of women’s baths on west side of entrance to Forum Baths boiler area. 

According to Clarke –

“There were three entrances to the furnaces which heated the warm and vapour baths.

The chief one opened onto a court, of an irregular figure, (see VII.5.10), fit for containing wood and other necessaries for the use of the establishment, covered in part by a roof, the rafters of which rested at one end on the lateral walls, and at the other on two columns, constructed with small pieces of stone.

From hence a very small staircase led to the furnaces and to the upper part of the baths.

Another entrance led to a small room (praefurnium), (see VII.5.7), into which projects the mouth of a furnace.

In this rooms were the attendants on the furnace, or stokers (fornacarii), whose duties it was to keep up the fires.

Here was found a quantity of pitch, used by the furnace-men to enliven the fires.

The stairs in the praefurnium led up to the coppers.

The third entrance led from the apodyterium of the men’s baths by means of a corridor (see VII.5.2).

It is to be remarked that there is no communication between these furnaces and the bath of the women, which was heated from them.

The furnace was round, and had in the lower part of it, two pipes, which transmitted hot air under the pavements and between the walls of the vapour-baths, which were built hollow for that purpose.

Close to the furnace, at the distance of four inches, (10cms) a round vacant space still remains, in which was placed the copper (caldarium) for boiling water; near which, with the same interval between them, was situated the copper for warm water (tepidarium); and at the distance of two feet (60cms) from this was the receptacle for cold water (frigidarium), which was square and plastered around the interior like the piscina or reservoir before-mentioned. (See VII.6.17or 18).

It is necessary to inform the reader that the terms “frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium”, are applied to the apartments in which the cold, tepid and hot baths are placed, as well as to those vessels in which the operation of heating the water is carried on.

The furnace and coppers were placed between the men’s and women’s baths, as near as possible to each, to avoid the waste of heat consequent on transmitting the heated fluids through a length of pipe. The coppers and reservoir were elevated considerably above the baths, to cause the water to flow more rapidly into them”.

See Clarke, W. (1833). Clarke’s Pompeii. Boston, USA, Lilly, Wait, Colman and Holden, (p. 158-9).

Other parts of the baths:   VII.5.2      VII.5.8      VII.5.10      VII.5.12      VII.5.24      VII.6.17      VII.6.18      Forum Baths Plan