La batalla de Trafalgar, justo frente a la costa del cabo Trafalgar, es el lugar de una de las batallas más famosas de la historia europea: la flota de Napoleón, con sus aliados españoles, fue derrotada por la Marina Real británica en 1805.
Las dunas de arena del cabo Trafalgar se han convertido recientemente en el lugar de las últimas termas romanas de España, que se encontraban en un estado de conservación impecable. “Es una estructura que tiene un estado de conservación excepcional para la Península Ibérica y el Mediterráneo occidental en general”, afirma en nota de prensa Darío Bernal, catedrático de arqueología de la Universidad de Cádiz. .
Baños Romanos en España: Perfectamente Conservados Bajo las Dunas de Arena
Archaeologists from the University of Cadiz carrying out the “Arqueostra” research project and conducting excavations in the area were on the lookout for cape and bay sites like Cape Trafalgar , where production of fish products occurred on a massif scale during the Roman period and this is how they stumbled upon at the recently discovered Roman baths in Spain. As per Murcia Today , pungent fish sauces were produced extensively in the Trafalgar region, as fish was an integral part of the Roman diet.
Interior of the latest Roman baths in Spain, which were discovered beneath the sand dune of Cape Trafalgar (Roman Rios / EFE)
Their surprise was surpassed by the that of the locals, who had been crossing these sand dunes on a daily basis and had no idea that a 2,000-year-old Roman bath was below them. The archaeology team were under the impression that the first parts of the structure they identified were ruins of a fish or crustacean farm.
High levels of preservation were found at the recently discovered Roman baths in Spain, probably because of the sand dunes, with some semblance of foundational architecture remaining.
According to the Spanish national EFE agency the latest Roman baths in Spain, on the contrary, have entire walls, doors and windows intact, which were all in great condition. The structure is 4 meters (13.1 feet) tall and still reveals its sophistication as a rural bath complex, which was fueled by an oven-like mechanism that caused hot-air currents to warm the walls and floor.
Prior Spanish Roman discoveries have tended to be in much poorer conditions and this was especially true of other previously discovered Roman baths in Spain, which are notorious for being found in abject states. As recently as 2020, Roman baths were found in Toledo , traced to the mid-1 st century AD, but were in poor conditions. Like the baths found at Trafalgar, they too possessed a communitarian purpose and functioned as a public facility as opposed to baths for the elites.
The famous and still functioning Roman baths in Bath, England. ( James Krat z / Adobe Stock)
The Importance of Baths in Roman Culture
According to La Prensa Latina , the recently discovered Roman baths in Spain probably served as a communal bath for local workers, who did heavy, sweaty coastal labor, such as fish farming or salting.
In fact, Roman baths have a long history of communal bathing and congregation, as explored by Haley Mowdy from Texas Woman’s University. According to her (and many others who’ve done extensive research on the subject), Roman baths were the single most characteristic feature of Roman culture.
In fact, by some estimates, public, communal Roman bath houses numbered around 856 by the 4th century AD, as per the registration records from the Roman regional catalogues. They were called either thermae or balneae, with the former representing imperial bathing complexes, and the latter being smaller-scale (though both public and private).
Bathing was not only a preserve of the elites but was also widely enjoyed by the Roman general public . They were centers for congregating, discussing politics and entertainment, reading, and generally maintaining good levels of hygiene (though popular myths about this period in Roman history have often poked fun at their standards of hygiene).
Yet, there were wealthy bathers who came to the baths with slaves called capsarius, whose only role was to carry the master’s towels, oils and strigils. They also maintained a strict vigil, as it was common to have slaves and pick-pockets frequent these bathing areas.
En “Bañarse en público en el mundo romano”, Garret G. Fagan escribe cómo los políticos visitaban a sus electores y otros conciudadanos en estos baños. Los amigos se reunían y planeaban cenas. Era un antiguo centro comunitario, con muchas actividades de estilo de vida y actividades adicionales en conjunto.
Fuente: 2st.qirdar.com
