Bath - Gymnasium
The cultural tradition of public bathing originated in the Classical Greek world. In the cities of the Hellenistic kingdoms public baths became standard, catering to the mental and physical well-being of the population.
By the middle of the 2nd century BCE, another tradition of public bathing consolidated in Roman Italy. Bathers visited a sequence of bathing rooms with different temperatures. The Romans also improved the indirect heating technology of floors and walls.
One of the public bathing facilities of Sagalassos was situated on a slope or hilltop to the east of the Lower Agora. The original building was constructed during the second quarter of the 1" century CE. It featured three rectangular spaces in a row, which were possibly vaulted and ended on an apsis at the southern end. The original configuration could have featured a courtyard at the other side.
From 120 CE onwards, the remains of the first building were incorporated in a newly conceived, large-scale bath-gymnasium complex, following architectural models typical for Asia Minor. Vaulted spaces were built around the hilltop in order to enlarge the building surface. The bathing rooms were laid out on this terrace, with the heated rooms over a suspended floor.
The core of the building was constructed with mortared brick. The outer walls received a monumental shell of limestone ashlars.
The interior decoration was very spectacular with walls and floors cladded with marble in many colours, mosaics and a collection of statuary.
As the building suffered from the internal use of heat and water, it saw many interventions, with a major renovation in Late Antiquity.
In the course of the 6th century CE, however, parts of the majestic bath-gymnasium were abandoned, and the empty rooms were stripped of all re-usable materials.
Finally, the damage caused by the 7th century CE earthquake put the facility beyond use.