This is the place to spend a spa day fit for an emperor.
Rome’s largest private baths ever discovered in the ruined ancient city of Pompeii were recently discovered by archaeologists beneath a pile of volcanic ash, officials announced Friday.
Dubbed a once-in-a-century discovery, this luxurious private complex featured a bathhouse and plunge pool with a greenhouse, conservatory, and cold room.
“Here we have probably the largest thermal bath complex in a private house in Pompeii,” Gabriel Zuftriegel, director of the Pompeii Archaeological Park, told the BBC.
“The ruling class of Pompeii set up huge spaces in their homes to hold banquets.”
This spa-like building is located in the heart of a housing complex that was probably owned by Pompeii’s elite, and sleeps up to 30 people.
Archaeologists had previously discovered a black-walled banquet hall decorated with paintings from Roman and Greek mythology adjacent to the baths.
“The ruling class of Pompeii set up huge spaces in their homes to hold banquets,” Zustriegel explained.
“They had the ability to build consensus, promote campaigns, and close deals. It was an opportunity to show that they were living well, and it was also an opportunity to receive great heat therapy. .”
The baths were excavated in an excavation zone known as Area IX, which remains largely excavated within Pompeii Park and is the site of major archaeological excavations.
A team of archaeologists recently discovered a nearby bakery and laundry, as well as other parts of the house.
The house is thought to have been owned by Aulus Rustius Verus, a wealthy and influential Pompeian politician.
In 79 AD, Mount Vesuvius erupted, killing 10 percent of Pompeii’s 20,000 residents and covering their bodies and the ruins of the city in ash.
That coating preserved the remains of Pompeii’s inhabitants for about 2000 years.
“Every day is a surprise here,” says Dr. Anna Onesti, head of the excavation.
“Sometimes I come to work in the morning thinking it’s a normal work day, but then I realize I’ve discovered something special.”
