3 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Huge Ancient Roman Public Baths in ‘Excellent’ State Discovered in Augusta Emerita

In Mérida, Spain, archaeologists have discovered a “massive” Roman bathing site in “excellent” condition. The discovery was found in the city of Mérida while excavating inside the famous 2,000-year-old Amphitheater House (Casa del Anfiteatro), built by the Romans in a colony they named Augusta Emerita.

Augustus founded Augusta Emerita, also known as Emerita Augusta, in 25 BC to resettle Emeriti soldiers from the veteran legions of the Cantabrian Wars. The city grew to become one of Hispania’s largest Roman centers and the capital of the province of Lusitania, covering an area of more than 20,000 square kilometers.

“The city was built as a model of Rome.”

“It is an excellent example of a provincial Roman capital during and after the Empire,” reads the UNESCO description.

Excavations of mosaics discovered in the House of the Amphitheater (Casa del Anfiteatro) in Mérida, Spain, where the Roman baths have been unearthed. ( Ayuntamiento De Mérida )
Excavations of mosaics were discovered in the House of the Amphitheater (Casa del Anfiteatro) in Mérida, Spain, where the Roman baths have been unearthed. Photo: Ayuntamiento De Mérida)

“Fantastic baths of an enormous size have been found for what is a standard Roman house,” stated Felix Palma, the director of the Consortium of the Monumental City of Mérida archaeological project, in a statement given to the Spanish publication El Diario. Palma said the baths would have belonged to a private residence or perhaps a set of private residences, although they would have been widely shared and therefore could still be labeled as “public” baths.

Anna Maria Bejarano, the Consortium archaeologist leading excavations at the site, said the baths are “perfectly preserved”—complete with decorations such as marble slabs, moldings on cornices, paintings on walls, and all of their underground structures.

The pool typically associated with these kinds of sites has not yet been uncovered in the excavation area, but archaeologists are not discounting the possibility that one will.

Photo: Ayuntamiento De Mérida
Photo: Ayuntamiento De Mérida

In an area first investigated during the 1940s at the Casa del Amphitheatre, a sizable domus constructed around a porticoed, trapezoidal courtyard with a garden in the middle, excavations carried out by the Emeritense Consortium and students from the University of Granada, the remains of a bathing complex were discovered.

According to Ana María Bejarano, an archaeologist from the Consortium responsible for the excavations, the team uncovered preserved public baths in the excavation area, suggesting that the Casa del Amphitheatre was not a typical domus, but a public complex linked to the shows of the Meritense amphitheater.

Cover Photo: Baths in the Casa del Amphitheatre, in Mérida Photo: Mérida City Council

Related Articles

Archaeologists uncovered a kurgan tomb from a previously unknown culture

8 January 2023

8 January 2023

Archaeologists from the Siberian Federal University have unearthed a kurgan tomb and numerous bronze tools and artifacts from a previously...

A fossilized Neanderthal skeleton unearthed in France may have belonged to a previously undescribed lineage that split from other Neanderthals

12 September 2024

12 September 2024

The fossilized Neanderthal skeleton, discovered in a cave system in the Rhône Valley of France, represents a previously unidentified lineage...

Roman road network spanning the South West of England identified in new research

7 August 2023

7 August 2023

A Roman road network spanning across Devon and Cornwall has been discovered by the University of Exeter archaeologists. A Roman...

Polish archaeologists discover papyruses containing a list of Roman centurions at Berenike

23 May 2024

23 May 2024

Papyruses with lists of Roman centurions stationed in Egypt were found by Polish archaeologists in Berenike. These unique documents were...

Spectacular ancient mosaic found in Paphos, Cyprus

21 July 2021

21 July 2021

During the excavations carried out on Fabrika Hill in Kato Paphos, Cyprus, an ancient mosaic floor belonging to the Hellenistic...

Ancient Funerary Stones Looted from Yemen Will Be Exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum

14 September 2023

14 September 2023

The Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) has signed a historic agreement with the Yemeni government to temporarily keep and display...

6,500-Year-Old Hunting Kit Discovered in West Texas Cave

5 April 2025

5 April 2025

A remarkable archaeological find in the rugged terrain of West Texas is transforming our understanding of the region’s prehistoric inhabitants....

During the demolition work, a 2,500-year-old bull heads alto relievo was discovered in Sinop

20 April 2022

20 April 2022

During the demolition work of the buildings in front of the historical city walls for the City Square National Garden...

2,600-year-old Terracotta Pipeline found in India

11 August 2024

11 August 2024

During the 10th phase of archaeological excavations at the Keeladi archaeological site in Tamil Nadu, India, archaeologists uncovered a terracotta...

The migration movement that started from Siberia 30,000 years ago may have shaped Göbeklitepe

24 June 2022

24 June 2022

Professor Semih Güneri, retired faculty member from Dokuz Eylul University (DEU) Caucasus Central Asia Archeology Research Center, stated that they...

Bronze Age family systems deciphered: Paleogeneticists analyze 3,800-year-old extended family

31 August 2023

31 August 2023

A Bronze Age family living 3,800 years ago in the Southern Urals may have taken a flexible approach to marriage,...

Ancient Synagogue found in Turkey’s popular tourist center Side

27 December 2021

27 December 2021

A 7th-century ancient synagogue has been found in Side, a resort town on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. The synagogue found was...

A Unique Discovery in Europe: Ancient Stone Circles Cover 2,800-Year-Old Graves of Children in Norway

29 June 2024

29 June 2024

Archaeologists from the Museum of Cultural History in Oslo discovered an unknown burial site in a quarry near Fredrikstad, in...

Unique Two-Faced Gold Ring Unearthed in Poland

10 February 2024

10 February 2024

A gold ring with an unusual two-faced design, likely to be from the 11th or 12th century, has been discovered...

Ancient Hebrew “Incantation Bowls” discovered in a home in Israel

8 March 2022

8 March 2022

The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) said Monday that 1,500-year-old magical “incantation bowls” and other rare and ornate bone and ivory...