History of the Hot Tub – Part I
Ancient Hot Tubs and Spas
It’s difficult for many of us to imagine living in a time-period other than our own, but believe it or not, while some cultural changes have been fast and drastic, other more lifestyle based practices remain. Just like us, people of the past spent time with friends and family in settings that we might recognize very quickly. They too, looked for ways to optimize their health and relax. One way, was to indulge in a man-made spa or natural spring and this practice from the past still survives today – in a hot tub or home spa. Amazingly, hot tubs and spas were a part of daily life for numerous groups of people in nearly every time-period. In this three-part series, let’s look back at the history of the hot tub.
Egypt, Rome, and the Middle East
Credited with some of the oldest and most successful systems, the ancient Egyptians used the bath for healing and washing. Often using a mixture of plants and certain mineral muds to cleanse their skin or address various ailments.
Greek, Egyptian, and Roman bath houses were all similar in that they incorporated a multi-stage procedure that went beyond simply soaking in the water. Massages, oil-rubbing and steam rooms were generally part of the methodology. Men and women usually didn’t bath together, making bathhouses a place where both genders could socialize in comfort. These establishments were plentiful in many major cities, relatively cheap and accessible.
Public bath houses were common in some ancient Asian cultures as well. Like the people of the Mediterranean, the Japanese found them to be beneficial as a source of healing and health. For a time, they permitted men and women to bathe together, adding another dynamic to the social aspect of the spa. In Middle Eastern Muslim and Judaic cultures, bathing was often associated with a religious ceremony and connected to worship and spiritual cleansing.
The technology and labor required to run ancient bath houses was truly extraordinary. Each culture found a way to move water from one place to another and to control the temperatures of the different tubs. This required complex aqueduct and heating systems (usually under the building), fuel and servants or slaves to operate the system.
Spas and bath-houses would continue to be a part of everyday life for diverse groups well into the middle ages, but depending on the culture, there would be major changes on the horizon.
Sources:
http://www.gallowglass.org/jadwiga/herbs/baths.html
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bath/hd_bath.htm
http://www.karanisbath.com/ancient-baths-in-egypt
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20121129-the-origins-of-bathhouse-culture-around-the-world
http://www.dl.ket.org/latin1/mores/baths/history/page02.htm
http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/baths.html