The bathing establishment in the block north of the Forum is smaller and simpler in its arrangements than that described in the last chapter, but the parts are essentially the same. Here also we find a court, with a colonnade on three sides; a system of baths for men, comprising a dressing room (I) with a small round frigidarium (II) opening off from it, a tepidarium (III), and a caldarium (IV); a similar system for women, the place of the frigidarium being taken by a tank for cold baths (2) in the dressing room; and a long narrow furnace room between the two baths (V). On three sides of the establishment are shops, in connection with which are several inns.

Fig. 91.—Plan of the baths near the Forum.
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These baths were built shortly after 80 B.C., about the time that Ulius and Aninius repaired the Stabian Baths; the characteristic masonry, with quasi-reticulate facing, is similar to that of the Small Theatre and the Amphitheatre. The names of the builders are known from an inscription found in duplicate: L. Caesius C. f. d[uum] v[ir] i[uri] d[icundo], C. Occius M. f., L. Niraemius A. f. II v[iri] d[e] d[ecurionum] s[ententia] ex peq[unia] publ[ica] fac[iundum] curar[unt] prob[arunt] q[ue]. Thus we see that the contract for the building was let and the work approved by Lucius Caesius, duumvir with judiciary authority,—his colleague had probably died since election and the vacancy had not yet been filled,—and the two aediles, Occius and Niraemius, who are here styled 'duumvirs,' for reasons already explained ([p. 12]); the cost was defrayed by an appropriation from the public treasury. Though these Baths are of later construction than the Stabian Baths, they seem more ancient because fewer changes were made in them.

The court here was not a palaestra; it was small for gymnastic exercises, and was not provided with a swimming tank and dressing rooms. The open space was occupied by a garden.

The colonnade on the north and west sides of the court had slender columns standing far apart, with a low and simple entablature; on the east side the columns were replaced by pillars carrying low arches, which served as a support for a gallery affording a pleasant view of the garden. This gallery was accessible from the upper rooms of several inns along the street leading north from the Forum, whose guests no doubt found diversion in watching what was going on below—an advantage that may have been taken into account by the city officials in fixing the rent. There are benches on the north side of the court, and at the middle a deep recess, or exedra (b), making a pleasant retreat for quiet conversation. The entrance from the frequented street at the left (A) is so arranged that passers-by could not look in; near the entrance from the street on the opposite side (A') is a closet (c). The decoration of the court was extremely simple. Columns and walls were unpainted; on the lower parts, stucco with bits of brick in it; above, white plaster.

From the court a corridor (a) led into the men's apodyterium, which could be entered also on the north side from the Strada delle Terme. This room contained benches, as shown on the plan; but there were no niches, as in the dressing rooms of the Stabian Baths, and wooden shelves or lockers may have been used instead. The small dark chamber at the north end (f) may have been used as a storeroom for unguents, such as the Greeks called elaeothesium. It seems to have been thought necessary here to connect the dressing room with the furnace room (V) by a separate passage.