Balneum Domesticum: A phenomenological and sensory study of architectural design and space in Pompeian domestic baths

Within the scholarship of Roman baths and bathing, the study of domestic balnea has been largely neglected. When they do appear in the scholarly literature, ‘private’ baths are frequently characterized as small-scale imitations of large, public thermae in both form and function, with house-baths described as sites of display, group bathing, and intense social interaction between homeowners and guests. In this thesis, I explore the archaeological remains, architectural designs, and sensory environments of 50 domestic balnea in Pompeii, Herculaneum, and the southwestern slopes of Vesuvius. The aim of this research to understand how house-baths were used, perceived, and experienced by householders within the cultural landscape of the home. To this end, I harness phenomenology, sensory, and privacy theories, along with a mixed-methodologies research (MMR) approach to understand the lived-experience of domestic baths and bathing during the first century BCE, until the destruction of the region in 79 CE. Via analyses of bath construction and solar position alignments, I propose a seasonal use for domestic balnea and suggest that they were designed primarily as cool retreats for summertime bathing. My analyses of bath locations within the house and residents’ corporeal engagement with space around the balneum also demonstrate that most house-baths were conceived of as private spaces; only rarely were balnea displayed or opened to non-residents during acts of hospitium privatum or hospitium publicum. My analysis of representational décor, multisensory environments, and sensory assemblages further corroborates my assertion that most domestic balnea were designed for privacy, intimacy, and solitary bathing, while evoking the pleasures of health and leisure. By detaching the domestic balneum from the discourse of Roman public baths and bathing, I propose a more nuanced understanding of household baths within domestic culture.