Kaltbad "Frigidarium"- Mehring, Germany
Posted by: 
dreamhummie
N 49° 47.642 E 006° 50.076
32U E 344156 N 5517980
A wash house in an old Roman villa "Villa Rustica" located at In der Kirchheck in Mehring, Germany.
Waymark Code: WMZ7CG
Location: Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Date Posted: 09/23/2018
Views: 2
"After its discovery in 1982, excavations were conducted in 1983/84; the villa remains were preserved and parts were reconstructed. Size: 157 x 95 ft/48 x 29 m, with about 25 rooms; building material: mortared slate quarry stone (to a height of about 9 ft/2.7 m). One of the largest Roman villas of the Trier countryside (villa rustica). The floor plan corresponds to the widespread villa type “Bollendorf” with two corner projections (towers) and colonnaded porch in between. The praefurnia (stoke holes for the heating system) are well preserved, also remains of mosaics, ceiling and wall paintings, and a bath. The villa was initially destroyed by a Germanic raid around AD 355, after which subjected Germanic people were probably settled there until the estate was finally destroyed around 407." (
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"A frigidarium is a large cold pool at the Roman baths. When entering the bath house, one would go through the apodyterium, where they would store their clothes. After the caldarium and the tepidarium, which were used to open the pores of the skin, the frigidarium would be reached. The cold water would close the pores. There would be a small pool of cold water or sometimes a large swimming pool (though this, differently from the piscina natatoria, was usually covered). The water could be also kept cold by using snow.
The frigidarium was usually located on the northern side of the baths. The largest examples of frigidarium were both in Rome: that of the Baths of Caracalla, located soon after the entrance, measures 58 x 24 m, and that of the Baths of Diocletian, covered by a cross vault. Some, like one in Pompeii, had a circular plan." (
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