Archaeologists unearth ancient Roman baths transformed into early Christian church near Rome
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Reported by Archaeology News:
Archaeologists at the Villa di Sette Bassi on Rome’s southeast rim have found evidence of a deep transformation that occurred in Late Antiquity: a Roman bath complex, the Baths of the Tritons, was transformed into an early Christian church. The discovery provides excellent insight into the spread of Christianity in the Roman countryside and the reuse of buildings during a period of profound religious and cultural change.
The Baths of the Tritons, constructed in the 2nd century CE, were part of a large estate which, before that, had social and hygienic functions typical of the elite architecture of the Roman Empire. The excavations revealed that the site took on a new religious role in the later centuries of the Roman Empire. At the center of this is the discovery of a marble-lined vasca (tub or pool), interpreted by archaeologists as an early baptistery for full-immersion baptism, a practice central to early Christian initiation.
The design of the baptistery reflects two phases of use. It was initially deeper to allow for full-body immersion, symbolizing the death of the old life for the neophyte and rebirth into the Christian faith. Subsequently, the pool floor was raised, suggesting a shift toward a less physically demanding form of the rite. This liturgical modification reflects broader evolutions in Christian practice during Late Antiquity.
Archaeologists affirm that the size and construction of the vasca show that it was not a simple chapel but a formal baptistery church with burial rites. This is attested by the presence of numerous burials near the pool. That there might have been a bishopric at the site, deep into the Roman countryside, is under serious consideration.
Appia Antica Archaeological Park explains that this discovery sheds new light on the Christianization of Rome’s surrounding area. They note that the coexistence of Roman bath architecture with Christian liturgical elements suggests the complex and gradual process of transition from classical antiquity to Christian domination.
Read more here.
It was shrewd to use Roman bathhouses as baptismal places, either adjacent to or converted to Churches because, for early Christianity, nudity & mixed bathing was shunned and so it was another reason to repurpose public baths. Having said that, hygienic culture became so bad over time that, by the Middle Ages, regular bathing was uncommon—along with the disappearance of civil infrastructure for bathing—and bacterial disease became commonplace once again after the Fall of Rome (e.g., Black Death); I suppose, when you destroy the Goddess who personified health & well-being, that'll happen. The Fall of Rome is so sad!
There was absolutely no “gradual transition” to Christianity; our ethnic-polytheistic “pagan” faith was, quite literally, replaced & destroyed; I will always push back hard on “gradual transition” because it logistically & evidently doesn't make sense.
One of the curious things about early churches in England is that those built within Roman fort were nearly always close to a bath house (or, at Vindolanda, a deep rainwater pool). I've often thought that they may have converted bath houses into baptisteries and built churches next door, and this shows it clearly!