Waters and spas in the classical world

Everywhere in many lands gush forth beneficent waters, here cold, there hot, there both . . . in some places tepid and lukewarm, promising relief to the sick . . . So wrote the Elder Pliny in Book XXXI of his Natural History, a section devoted entirely to water, which was the element he considered "lord over all the others".' In Pliny's day the major spas were termed aquae, of which around one hundred are recorded. Many remain unlocated; at some the springs are now dry; at others, due to continued usage, the ancient installations are sealed, or partially or wholly destroyed by subsequent structures. The archaeological investigation of spas is thus a difficult and painstaking process, usually opportunistic as alterations are made to existing buildings. Before turning to the physical remains of the spas themselves, however, I shall briefly survey Greek and Roman medicinal uses of water.