| Context: | Olympia |
| Type: | Baths |
| Summary: | Sitz baths; west outside the Sanctuary of Zeus (Altis), east of and connected to the Swimming Pool. |
| Date: | ca. 480 BC |
| Dimensions: | Phase 1 room: ca. 20.3 m x 4.3 m; Phase 4 hypocaust extension: 8 m x 6 m with 3.17 m deep apse. |
| Region: | Elis |
| Period: | Classical |
Plan:
On the north a narrow rectangular building with a basin on its south side. Opening off this on the south a rectangular room with 11 bathing tubs on its north and east sides, and an apse on the south.
History:
The Greek baths went through many building phases and extensions. In the earliest, Phase 1, it was a simple rectangular building with basin and doors on the north and south. A Swimming Pool bath was southwest of this. In Phase 2, the room with sitz baths described above in the Plan description was added. A wall and oven for heating water was added in Phase 2a. Phases 3, 3a, and 3b saw the addition of 20 more sitz bathtubs, cisterns, and water heating furnaces, and the earliest bath building was divided into smaller areas. In Phase 3c, additional walls were built in the sitz bath area. In Phase 4, a large extension was made on the southeast corner. It communicated with other rooms having baths of different temperature and had a hypocaust system for heated floors.
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