Leptis Magna: The Hadrianic Baths

While the most impressive ruins at Leptis date to the Severan period, the site also has some very interesting remains from earlier periods. Perhaps foremost among these are the Hadrianic Baths.



The Emperor Hadrian


Hadrian was emperor of Rome from 117 to 138 AD, and he is best known for his work in establishing secure frontiers for the empire, including the defensive wall which he ordered built across northern Britain.


He really was an extraordinary man. He wrote poetry in both Latin and Greek, and was said to have been able to read, write and dictate simultaneously. During his time as emperor, he did two tours of the Roman provinces, travelling on foot and carrying the normal equipment of a Roman legionary. His private life was less exemplary and he was widely ridiculed for his affaire with a young boy called Antinous.




The Hadrianic Baths at Leptis


The bathhouse was built on a grand scale and it would have been one of the main social centres of the city, visited daily for several hours by all of the most prominent citizens.


Like Roman bathhouses elsewhere, the one at Leptis contained a series of rooms and baths at different temperatures, as well as changing rooms and restrooms.

The main entrance

The natatio or swimming pool

The remains of the underfloor hypocaust system that heated some of the rooms

The tepidarium or warm bath

A room with a statue of Hadrian's beloved Antinous

The floors of the rooms were clad in marble

The marble-clad latrines