Sardis was the ancient Lydian capital, rebuilt successively as a Hellenistic & then a Roman city.
This marble court stood in the center of a large complex, between the baths (caldarium and frigidarium) and the exercise yard (palaestra). The ruins have been reconstructed to show what they would have looked like, with modern materials used to supplement the original remains. In the near wall, the lower courses of stone ashlars are original; the rest are modern replacements. In the smaller masonry work of the far wall, the dark red brick is modern; the more abundant grayish brick is original.
From the interpretive sign:
Bathing was part of an important Roman social tradition, which spread throughout the Roman empire. That tradition emphasized the benefits of leisure, and combined the pleasure of bathing in tepid, warm and cold water with conversation, exercise and intellectual pursuits (for example, lectures and library reading). Roman bath buildings are the physical manifestation of that tradition, and their remains substantially clarify our understanding of it. In the traditional Turkish bath, or hamam, we see a distant but direct extension of the Roman baths and bathing.
This complex at Sardis, one of at least two monumental bath buildings in the city, is located near the northwestern city limits and covers 23,000 square meters. In plan, the complex belongs to a Roman bath type called “Imperial” (attested elsewhere in Asia Minor, Rome, and other parts of the Roman Empire), in which rooms and halls are symmetrically organized, with those for hot water and cold water (respectively, caldarium and frigidarium) located on the central axis. The eastern half of the complex was an open court (palaestra; for exercise and ceremonies) surrounded by a portico; the western half was the bath unit, composed of many large halls covered by vaults.
Entry to the complex was through a triple door axially located on the east side of the palaestra. On the east side of the bath unit, the extensively restored rectangular space with columnar facades in two levels (Marble Court) originally was separate from the bath unit (not connected by doorways with bath unit rooms); it was used for special ceremonies, perhaps in connection with ritual worship of the Roman emperor. An inscription on the first storey (with red-painted letters) dedicates this space to the Roman Imperial family: Emperors Caracalla and Geta and their mother, Julia Domna (widow of Emperor Septimius Severus).
The complex was probably completed in the late 2nd or early 3rd century AD. Repaired and modified in succeeding centuries, it fell into ruin beginning in the 7th century AD.
-American Archaeological Exploration of Sardis
Sponsored by Harvard Art Museum and Cornell University
Excavation and research conducted with permission from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Republic of Turkey
Posted by Anita363 on 2012-11-11 19:07:14
Tagged: , Turkey , Sardis , Sardes , gymnasium , Roman , Classical , ruins , reconstructed , Rick , pleiades:depicts=550867