Karen Jeneson tells the current story of the Roman bathhouse
Author: Harry Lindelauf
Photography: Submedia en Thermenmuseum
At the centre of the hustle and bustle of Roman Heerlen (Coriovallum) stood the bathhouse for more than four centuries. Here the inhabitants of the town and the region came to cleanse themselves. But also to chat, to exercise, and for a visit to the masseur or the hairdresser. There was food and drink, and even a doctor for medical treatments.
This is the picture evoked by the new book The Roman Bathhouse of Heerlen. The book was presented on 8 February 2023 by author Karen Jeneson during the first meeting of the Committee of Recommendation for the new museum. That museum is intended to replace the current Thermenmuseum in 2025.
New excavations
The book is a public-friendly version of the English-language scientific publication about the bathhouse that appeared in 2020. “It was high time that we tell the new story in a way that everyone can understand,” says Karen Jeneson. For the scientific publication — and now also for the book — the data from all investigations of the bathhouse since 1940 were reviewed and linked between 2017 and 2019. Added to this were the outcomes of the new research and the results of modern techniques such as laser scanning.
Beautiful illustrations
Thanks in part to the special illustrations, Karen Jeneson explains that Coriovallum was founded around the beginning of our era. A hundred years later, the town had grown into an important hub for craftsmen such as potters, smiths and tanners, traders in grain and livestock, but also soldiers and travellers moving along the Via Belgica and Via Traiana. In the first century, the bathhouse was built in the young Coriovallum. A major expansion followed at the beginning of the second century, after which the thermae were extensively rebuilt and converted into a fort in the fourth century. The building remained in use for more than 400 years. Throughout that time it remained a symbol of the town of Coriovallum and its Roman bustle.
Photo: the bathhouse seen from the front. The colonnade was 48 metres wide.
Published by Matrijs, available in bookshops and in the Thermenmuseum in Heerlen. €17.95.
