Changes

As aqueducts and water supply technologies, such as <i>qanats</i> became more elaborate, public baths developed in more places. The Romans were well known for create large and elaborate bath houses that sometimes took advantage of natural springs, including hot springs or geothermal springs, as well as supplying water to specific sites using water transport technologies. The Romans probably built the most elaborate bath houses, where bathing was seen as an important aspect of religious worship as well as cleanliness. Bathing was so important to the Romans that there were social expectations that all classes participate in bathing. This led to the practice of the Roman government often commissioning large public baths, which were found in most Roman towns and cities. Rome, itself, had 952 baths of varying size, with the largest public bath from the ancient world being the Baths of Diocletian built in 306. Sometimes baths were associated with temples and religious practice, such as the Roman Baths in modern Bath, UK, where the main temple was dedicated to Minerva/Sulis. With this emphasis, baths became not only public but also spaces used to socialize, from meeting potential business partners, to buy and sell products, but also demonstrate one's status in society. In other cases, baths were also sometimes associated with prostitution or just casual sex between different sexes.  Romans often built baths as one of the first things in a town they conquered or built. People would also exercise, often to help built a sweat so that it is easier to remove skin and dirt, while they would also be massaged. Oil treatments, often of varying quality, would be made available to people. There were also two main types of baths, one hot (<i>calidarium</i>) and the other cold (<i>frigidarium</i>). Effectively, Roman baths began to become similar to our concept of spas, where people go to receive massages, skin treatments, relax, and bathe. Roman baths have most likely shaped our concepts of spa treatments and other cultures' bath that followed in the Medieval period.