Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 5.djvu/39

Rh and the evident traces of its being much worn down by exposure to the atmosphere and constant trampling, seem to prove it to have been the floor of the open atrium or court of the establishment whether public or private, and its applicability, from its position, to that use will be presently pointed out. The tesserae are nearly all red, (a very few being of the light coloured brick indiscriminately placed without any attempt at pattern,) each is about 1 in. by 1 in. square, formed by chipping, not moulded, and about 2 in. long, set compactly in a bed of concrete; the whole pavement has sunk much towards the centre from the giving way of the substratum; the marks of constant attrition are evident in all parts, as far as it is exposed; extensive pavements of exactly similar construction have at various times been found at Colchester, one of considerable extent was open in 1845, 6, It is to be observed there is no communication from the inclosure above described to that portion next to be mentioned, which is the feature of the greatest interest of the two, and what I believe to be the end walls and lower portion of the construction of that kind of bath called by the Romans a "laconicum" or "concamerata sudatio;" it is marked B. I, on the plan. This chamber was warmed by a hypocaustum underneath, thus forming a sudatorium or hot chamber. As the size of it appears to be only 10 ft. 8 in. in its largest diameter, it was most probably the "laconicum" only, and did not include the "calidarium" also, as in many instances where the room was sufficiently large, may be seen at Pompeii, Puteoli, &c. When the apartment contained both, the length was about three times its width, the laconicum was at one end where the wall was hemispherical and supported a domed roof, whilst the calidarium or hot bath was at the other or square end; in the latter case, the water was contained in a large vessel standing on the floor, called a "labrum," with a widely curving lip or edge, on which the bathers could sit or rest; it was sometimes sunk