Roman Baths

One of the first monuments excavated by Ugolini. The baths were built during the establishment of the Roman colony, however they underwent major works for renovation during the 2nd century AD, as the wall in opus testaceum shows. The complex of this bath house was formed by several rooms, even though its southern and western sides are not excavated. The wall above ground in opus mixtum is contemporary with the calidarium. The room also has a hypocaust, with a tiled floor suspended on pilae. There is a semi/circular exedra used as alveus, a small bathing pool. A low arched opening in the masonry on the outer side of the alveus allowed steam to enter through a furnace opening (praefurnium). The northeastern room was sealed in its latest phase and used as a frigidarium. The floor shows a mosaic with a black and white geometric design framed within rectangular white and red borders. A low bench ran around the perimeter of the room, which had a marble revetment. The earliest phase had two doors on the southern and eastern sides, however it is not known which was the function of this room. The complex was used until the 4th or 5th century AD. 

Bibliography on the subject

 

  • Hernandez D. R. e Çondi D., “The agora and the forum at Butrint: a new topography of the ancient urban center” in Lamboley, Perzhita, Skenderaj, L'Illyrie méridionale et l'Épire dans l'antiquité 6. Actes du 6e colloque international de Tirana (20 - 23 mai 2015), Paris, 2018, pp. 1-17

  • Hernandez D. R.e Çondi D., “The formation of Butrint: new insights from excavations in the Roman forum” in Proceedings of the international congress of Albanian archaeological studies. 65th anniversary of Albanian Archaeology (21-22 November, Tirana 2013), Tiranë, 2014, pp. 285-301

  • Melfi M., "Butrinto: da Santuario di Asclepio a centro federale", in de Marinis et al., I processi formativi ed evolutivi della città in area adriatica, Oxford, 2012, pp. 23-30 
  • Mustilli D., "Relazione preliminare sugli scavi archeologici in Albania (1937-1940)", in Reale Accademia d'Italia. Rendiconti della classe di scienze morali e storiche, f. 12, series VII, vol. II, Roma, 1941, pp. 677-704
  • Ugolini L. M., Butrinto. Il mito di Enea. Gli scavi, Istituto grafico tiberino, 1937, pp. 148-149