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The Roman Bathhouse. Very few Roman houses had their own plumbing but since people still needed to go to the toilet and keep clean, latrines and baths tended to be public facilities. Visiting a bath-house in Roman times wasn't simply a matter of filling a tub with hot water and smelly bubbles. |
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| When it was your turn, you went into the caldarium - the hot room, and really sweated. When you were good and moist a slave would rub olive oil over you and then scrape your skin so that it was beautifully clean. You finished off by having a plunge in the pool in the frigidarium which, you've guessed it, felt freezing after the heat of the hot room. |
 Remains of a Roman Bath House |
| Why did the Romans choose Lancaster? They knew about the crossing in the river - and since any enemy force would try to cross here they wanted to guard it. They also knew that if the river was deep between Lancaster and the sea - then they could sail ships up the river to supply the fort and, eventually, the traders in the town. | |
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