Thermes romains (vestiges)
MonumentHidden Treasure
Thermes romains (vestiges), located in Aix-en-Provence (Bouches-du-Rhône), is a ancient remains built in Antiquity. The monument is currently closed to visitors.
Key facts
- Type
- autre
- Period
- Antiquity
- Location
- Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
- Visit
- Closed to visitors
- GPS
- 43.5311, 5.4443
- Mérimée Reference
- PA00081108
In the heart of Aix-en-Provence, the remains of the Roman thermal baths bear witness to the ancient Aquae Sextiae, founded in 122 BC: a twenty-century plunge into Roman thermal civilisation, listed as a Historic Monument since 1922.
History
Nestling in the urban fabric of Aix-en-Provence, the remains of the Roman thermal baths are one of the most tangible reminders of the ancient Aquae Sextiae, the first Roman town founded in Transalpine Gaul. These silent ruins are a reminder that the city owes its very existence to its hot springs, exploited with remarkable skill by Roman engineers from the end of the 2nd century BC. What makes this site truly exceptional is its ability to embody the continuity of a civilisational practice: treating the body with hot water. Where the thermal waters still gush out at around 34°C, the Romans had built a monumental bathing complex, combining frigidarium, tepidarium and caldarium according to the hygienic and social logic that characterised the public baths of the Empire. The subsoil of the modern city still bears the imprint of these sumptuous rooms, sometimes revealed by opportunistic archaeological digs during urban development projects. To visit this site is to accept an archaeology of the invisible as well as the visible. The remains preserved in the elevations - opus incertum masonry, fragments of lead piping, partial hypocausts - demand imagination, but in return offer an authentic immersion in ancient Provençal town planning. The experience is all the more striking given that the modern thermal baths of Aix, just a few metres away, perpetuate the same uninterrupted thermal tradition that has lasted for over two millennia. The setting in Aix enhances the visit: the light of Provence, the plane trees shading the narrow streets nearby, and the blonde limestone unifying the architectural periods invite you to take an extraordinary archaeological and urban stroll. It's a monument for the curious, for lovers of ancient history and for anyone looking for the Roman foundations of a France yet to be born beneath the cobblestones of an elegant Baroque town.
Architecture
The remains of the Roman thermal baths at Aix-en-Provence illustrate the construction principles typical of public bathing establishments in the Roman Narbonne region. The masonry that has survived bears witness to the use of opus incertum and opus mixtum, techniques that combine local limestone rubble - blond stone extracted from quarries in the Arc region - with fired brick quoins laid in regular courses. This construction method, typical of the 1st and 2nd centuries AD, gave the walls proven solidity while allowing them to rise quickly. The most significant architectural feature to have survived is the hypocaust system, a floor raised on small brick columns (pilae) to allow the circulation of hot air produced by praefurnia - outdoor fireplaces fed continuously by slave heaters. This ingenious device kept the floor of the caldarium at temperatures that could exceed 50°C. Tubuli - terracotta pipes built into the walls - diffused the heat upwards, heating the entire envelope of the hot rooms. Traces of these ducts, visible in certain sections of the walls, remain one of the most eloquent indicators of Roman thermal sophistication. The original springs, gushing out at around 34°C, were collected in masonry basins and distributed by a network of lead and terracotta pipes. The presence of a frigidarium with a large cold pool (natatio) is likely, as the major public baths in the Narbonnaise region invariably followed this tripartite architectural programme. The size of the complex, although difficult to reconstruct in its entirety given the state of the excavations, suggests an establishment of regional importance, reflecting Aquae Sextiae's status as a provincial capital in Roman administrative organisation.
Related Figures
Caius Sextius Calvinus — consul romain, fondateur d'Aquae Sextiae en 122 av. J.-C., dont les thermes portent indirectement le nomCaius Marius — général romain qui vainquit les Cimbres et les Teutons près d'Aix en 102 av. J.-C., fréquentateur présumé des thermes de la colonieAuguste — empereur sous lequel Aquae Sextiae connut son plein essor urbanistique et le développement de ses infrastructures thermalesAgricola — gouverneur romain de Narbonnaise au Ier siècle, représentant du pouvoir impérial qui supervisa les grands chantiers civils de la provinceNicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc — érudit aixois du XVIIe siècle, pionnier de l'archéologie provençale, premier à signaler et décrire des vestiges antiques à AixFrançois-Marie Granet — peintre et conservateur aixois du XIXe siècle, dont les travaux contribuèrent à valoriser le patrimoine antique de sa ville natale
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Frequently Asked Questions
Where is Thermes romains (vestiges) located?
Thermes romains (vestiges) is located in Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, France.
When was Thermes romains (vestiges) built?
Thermes romains (vestiges) dates back to a period built during Antiquity.
Is Thermes romains (vestiges) open to visitors?
Thermes romains (vestiges) is currently closed to visitors.