Image Details

Yizar Hirschfeld

The bath complex at Hammat-Gader included numerous baths and pools. Hot water (125º F) came from the spring, shown in the distance. There it was collected in a round basalt tank made with slabs of stone carefully fit with tongue-and-groove joints. Part of the tank is visible at upper left in the photo (in the foreground is the Small Round Pool). Conduits and pipes distributed the water to different pools, where it was mixed with varying quantities of cool water to achieve a range of temperatures. Bathers would most likely begin in the relatively mild waters of the Large Oval Pool and then proceed to one of the smaller and presumably hotter pools. Afterward, they could relax in the open-air Hall of the Fountains, where fountains helped cool the water.