Nova (1974–…): Season 27, Episode 9 - Secrets of Lost Empires: Roman Bath - full transcript
Narrator:
MIST RISES OFF THESE WATERS
AS IT HAS FOR CENTURIES.
HOT SPRINGS BUBBLE
INTO A LEAD-LINED POOL.
AGAINST THIS ANCIENT BACKDROP
AN UNUSUAL GATHERING
IS TAKING PLACE.
ALTHOUGH MOST OF THESE PEOPLE
HAVE NEVER MET
TOGETHER THEY WILL TAKE
A JOURNEY INTO HISTORY...
WHEN THE PUBLIC BATH
WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
BUILDINGS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
2,000 YEARS AGO
THE BATH WAS NOT JUST
A PLACE FOR THE HIGHBORN.
IT WAS A COMMUNITY CENTER
AND A DAILY RITUAL THAT DEFINED
WHAT IT MEANT TO BE ROMAN.
Man:
IT MUST HAVE BEEN A SIGHT
THE LIKE OF WHICH THE MODERN
MIND FINDS DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE.
NOT ONLY IS THERE SPLENDOR
OF THE ENVIRONMENT
BUT CROWDS OF PEOPLE.
THERE IS FIRM EVIDENCE
THAT MEN AND WOMEN
DID BATHE
COMPLETELY NAKED TOGETHER.
AND ALL THE TIME, NOISE.
ROMANS LOVED TO CONVERSE
AND ARGUE AND DISCUSS.
PEOPLE WOULD BE
SHOUTING AND LAUGHING.
PEOPLE WOULD BE DRINKING.
SOME PEOPLE
WOULD HAVE DRUNK TOO MUCH.
PEOPLE WOULD BE
SINGING IN THE BATH.
Narrator:
UNDERLYING ALL THE LUXURY
WERE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES...
COPIOUS SUPPLIES OF HOT AND COLD
WATER PIPED IN FROM MILES AWAY
ROOMS OF INTOXICATING WARMTH
MADE POSSIBLE BY
SOPHISTICATED HEATING SYSTEMS.
BUT WHEN THE ROMAN
EMPIRE COLLAPSED
THE WORLD FELL INTO DARKNESS
AND THE ART AND SCIENCE
OF THE BATHS WAS LOST...
UNTIL NOW.
AFTER 2,000 YEARS,
NOVA WILL BUILD A ROMAN BATH
AND STRIVE TO UNCOVER
THE SECRETS
OF THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY
ADVANCED BUILDING
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.
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Keach:
THE ROMAN BATH WAS ONCE
A TECHNOLOGICAL MARVEL.
TODAY IT'S
A TECHNOLOGICAL MYSTERY.
A MYSTERY THAT
THIS GROUP OF ENGINEERS
ARCHEOLOGISTS AND HISTORIANS
ARE HOPING TO SOLVE
AS THEY JOURNEY INTO THE MIND
OF THE ANCIENT BUILDERS.
Man:
I DON'T THINK
THE ROMANS
WOULD HABITUALLY HAVE BUILT
SOMETHING THAT DIDN'T WORK.
THEY MIGHT HAVE MADE
MISTAKES OCCASIONALLY.
Keach:
FIKRET YEGUL IS AN ARCHITECT
AND EXPERT ON ANCIENT BATHS.
IS NOT A DESIGN
THAT WE CREATED.
WE DON'T EVEN TAKE...
Keach:
AFTER A LIFETIME OF STUDY
HE IS DESIGNING
HIS FIRST ROMAN BATH
WITH HELP FROM
TEOMAN YALCINKAYA
AN ENGINEER WHO WILL BUILD IT.
BUT THE ROMANS LEFT
NO BLUEPRINTS
NO TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS.
ALL THEY HAVE TO GO ON
ARE THE RUINS THAT REMAIN
AFTER 2,000 YEARS...
CRUMBLING EVIDENCE
OF HEATING SYSTEMS
THAT REVEAL LITTLE
OF HOW THEY WORKED;
REMNANTS OF PIPE
THAT SUGGEST COMPLEX PLUMBING.
EVEN THE POOLS WHERE THE ROMANS
BATHED HAVE FALLEN INTO RUIN.
Yegul:
THIS IS REALLY AN IMITATION
OF A TYPE OF ROMAN BATH
THAT I HAVE SEEN AND WORKED
AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.
THAT'S INTERESTING,
BECAUSE I HAVEN'T.
Keach:
AMONG HIS COLLEAGUES HERE,
FIKRET'S DESIGN IS PROBLEMATIC.
MOST OF THEM THINK
IT WON'T WORK.
I THINK WE'RE RATHER A LONG WAY
AWAY FROM THE ROMANS HERE.
Keach:
WHO WERE THESE ROMAN BUILDERS?
EMANATING FROM THE CITY OF ROME
THEIR EMPIRE SPANNED
MORE THAN 3,000 MILES
FROM SYRIA TO SCOTLAND
AND REIGNED SUPREME
FOR A THOUSAND YEARS.
FEW CIVILIZATIONS
BEFORE OR SINCE
HAVE BUILT WITH SUCH INTENSITY...
SPECTACULAR FEATS OF ENGINEERING
AND MAGNIFICENT MONUMENTS.
BUILDING WAS INGRAINED
IN THE ROMAN CHARACTER.
Yegul:
UNLIKE THE GREEKS
WHO WERE PROBABLY
MORE INTERESTED
IN THE PRISTINE BEAUTY OF THINGS
ROMANS WERE MORE
FUNCTIONAL PEOPLE.
THEY WERE PROUD TO BRING WATER
TO THEIR CITIES.
THEY WERE PROUD
TO OPEN COMFORTABLE
AND SAFE HIGHWAYS TO TRAVEL ON
AND BRIDGES TO CROSS VALLEYS
AND RIVERBEDS.
Keach:
BUT THE REAL GENIUS
OF THE ROMAN ENGINEERS
WAS EXPLOITING WHAT THEY LEARNED
FROM OTHER CULTURES.
Man:
AS THEY SPREAD ACROSS
THE MEDITERRANEAN
COMING INTO CONTACT
AND ACTUALLY CONQUERING
ONE LAND AFTER ANOTHER
THEY WOULD ABSORB
A LOT OF THE IDEAS
AND DEVELOP
SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGIES
THAT HAD BEEN STARTED
IN OTHER LANDS.
Keach:
WITH IDEAS, MONEY
AND SLAVE LABOR
APPROPRIATED FROM
CONQUERED NATIONS
THE EMPERORS OF ROME BUILT
INCREASINGLY COMPLEX STRUCTURES.
AMONG THEM, THE BATHS.
THE ROMANS BUILT SO MANY OF THEM
THE BATHS BECAME
AN EXPERIMENTAL LABORATORY
TO TEST OUT NEW CONCEPTS.
Yegul:
THE BATHS OCCUPY
A SPECIAL POSITION
IN THE COURSE OF ROMAN
ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE.
IT'S A BUILDING TYPE
EXTREMELY ADVANCED
IN ITS VAULTING TECHNIQUES
WATER SUPPLY
AND HEATING TECHNIQUES
AND SOME OF
THE EARLIEST EXPERIMENTS
IN ROMAN CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY.
Keach:
IN MODERN-DAY TURKEY
LIES AN ANCIENT ROMAN CITY
CALLED SARDIS.
IT'S HERE, IN THE SHADOW
OF THE BATH AT SARDIS
THAT NOVA WILL TRY TO UNCOVER
THE SECRETS THAT HAVE BEEN LOST
FOR CENTURIES.
BUILDING A ROMAN BATH
BEGINS THE SAME WAY IT DID
2,000 YEARS AGO...
WITH A GOOD PIECE OF LAND.
FIKRET YEGUL HAS ARRIVED
WITH TEOMAN YALCINKAYA
AN ENGINEER WITH
AN INTERESTING SIDELINE.
I THINK THIS SITE
MAY BE
THE IDEAL PLACE
FOR THE PLACEMENT
OF THE BATH.
Keach:
FOR 30 YEARS,
TEOMAN HAS ALSO BEEN A MEMBER
OF THE SARDIS EXCAVATION TEAM.
NOW, THE SUN
IS RISING HERE...
FROM THE EAST,
FROM OVER THERE
AND GOING TO
THE WEST OVER THERE.
Keach:
THE ROMANS UNDERSTOOD
SOLAR HEATING
AND MADE BEST USE OF THE SUN'S
WARMTH BY ORIENTING THE WINDOWS
OF THE HOTTEST ROOM
TOWARD THE SOUTH.
WITH AN EXPOSURE
TO THE SOUTH
AND THE WEST
WE HAVE THE IDEAL
ROMAN WAY OF DOING THINGS.
Keach:
THE NEXT STEP IS TO MARK
THE FOOTPRINT OF THE BUILDING
IN THE GROUND.
THIS BATH WILL BE SMALL,
LIKE THE PRIVATE BATHS
ATTACHED TO THE HOMES
OF VERY RICH ROMANS.
THE SHEEP ARE ABOUT TO LOSE
THEIR FAVORITE GRAZING AREA
TO AN EXPERIMENT IN HISTORY.
IT WILL TAKE ALL DAY JUST TO
MARK AND PREPARE THE FOUNDATION.
IN THE MEANTIME, GARRETT FAGAN
HAS ALSO ARRIVED IN TURKEY.
AN EXPERT IN ROMAN CULTURE
HE IS HERE TO EXPERIENCE
A TURKISH HAMAM
A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF
THE ROMAN BATH.
Fagan:
THIS IS A HOT ROOM.
IT'S OVER 100 DEGREES IN HERE
AND I HAVE TO PERSPIRE IN HERE.
WHAT I DO IS
I LIE DOWN ON THIS SLAB
AND FOR ABOUT TEN MINUTES,
AND RELAX AND SWEAT.
IN THE ROMAN BATH,
THE SYSTEM WAS QUITE DIFFERENT.
THEY WOULD COME INTO
A MEDIUM HEATED ROOM
WHERE THEY WOULD BE OILED DOWN
BY A SLAVE.
THEY MIGHT HAVE DIRT
THROWN ON THEM AT THAT STAGE
IF THEY WANTED
TO WRESTLE OUTSIDE.
THE NEXT PROCESS
WAS TO GO OUTSIDE
INTO THE EXERCISE YARD,
THE PALAESTRA.
Keach:
THE EXERCISE WASN'T STRENUOUS.
IT WAS JUST MEANT
TO WORK UP A SWEAT.
THE ROMANS WOULD HAVE COME IN
FROM THE EXERCISE GROUND
COVERED IN THEIR OIL
AND SWEAT...
AND THERE THEY
WOULD HAVE BEEN STRIGILED
IN THIS RATHER UNUSUAL PROCESS
INVOLVING THESE IMPLEMENTS
CALLED STRIGILS.
Keach:
ROMANS DID NOT HAVE SOAP.
THEY JUST SCRAPED OFF
THE DIRT AND OIL.
Fagan:
THEN THEY WOULD FLICK IT
ONTO THE GROUND
AND ONTO THE WALLS OF THE BATH.
IMAGINE THE GERMS AND BACTERIA
THAT ACCUMULATED
IN THIS SUBSTANCE
THAT THE GREEKS CALLED "GLOIOS."
Keach:
UNAWARE OF GERMS
ROMAN DOCTORS COLLECTED
THE GLOIOS FROM THE FLOOR
AND MIXED IT
INTO MEDICINAL OINTMENTS.
AFTER SPONGING DOWN
THE NEXT STEP WAS
DECIDEDLY LESS PLEASANT.
BODY HAIR WAS NOT FASHIONABLE
IN ANCIENT ROME
SO THE BATHER COULD HIRE
A DEPILATOR... A HAIR PLUCKER.
Fagan:
AND THEY WOULD
PLUCK OUT THE HAIRS
EVEN THEIR UNDERARM HAIRS.
AND, IN FACT, SENECA THE YOUNGER
HE DESCRIBES THE HOWLS
OF THE DEPILATORS
WHO ARE LOOKING FOR CUSTOMERS
WHICH ARE ONLY EXCEEDED
BY THE HOWLS OF THE CUSTOMERS
WHO ARE BEING PLUCKED.
Keach:
AFTER A GENTLE SOAPING,
GARRETT'S HAMAM WILL BE OVER.
BUT A ROMAN BATH
LASTED SEVERAL HOURS
CULMINATING IN THE CALDARIUM
WHERE THE FLOOR WAS SO HOT
WOODEN SANDALS
WERE AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY.
THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON
WAS SPENT SOCIALIZING
AND ARRANGING
THE EVENING'S ACTIVITY.
GARRETT ALSO HOPES
TO EXPERIENCE A ROMAN BATH...
BUT HE'LL HAVE TO WAIT
UNTIL IT'S BUILT.
AS GROUNDBREAKING BEGINS
TEOMAN HAS A TOUGH JOB
AHEAD OF HIM.
LIMITED TO THE TOOLS
AND TECHNIQUES
KNOWN IN ANCIENT TIMES
HE HAS AGREED TO BUILD
THE BATH IN SEVEN WEEKS.
FOR THE ROMANS,
IT MIGHT HAVE TAKEN MONTHS.
NOVA SET UP A TIME-LAPSE CAMERA
TO CAPTURE EVERY MINUTE
OF THE ACTION.
THE STONES HAVE BEEN DELIVERED
AND THE FOUNDATION
BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE.
THERE WILL BE THREE ROOMS...
THE BARE NECESSITY
FOR A PROPER ROMAN BATH.
THE FRIGIDARIUM, OR COLD ROOM
WILL HAVE A ROUND
COLD POOL IN THE APSE.
THE TEPIDARIUM, OR WARM ROOM
IS WHERE THE BATHERS
WILL CHANGE THEIR CLOTHES
AND HAVE A MASSAGE.
AND IN THE CALDARIUM,
OR HOT ROOM
THERE IS A HEATED POOL
TOWARD THE BACK.
FROM COLD TO WARM TO HOT...
IT'S ALL A PRODUCT
OF THE HEATING SYSTEM.
BELOW THE HOT POOL
A FIREPLACE OR FURNACE
WILL HEAT THE FLOOR
THREE WALLS OF THE CALDARIUM,
AND ONE WALL OF THE TEPIDARIUM.
WHETHER THE HEATING SYSTEM
WILL WORK OR NOT
REMAINS TO BE SEEN.
THE WALLS MUST GO UP.
TWO WEEKS OF WORK
IS COLLAPSED INTO 20 SECONDS.
HERE, ONE OF ROME'S GREATEST
ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS
IS BEGINNING TO TAKE SHAPE.
THE VAULTED OR DOMED ROOF
WAS A TECHNOLOGICAL
LEAP FORWARD IN ARCHITECTURE.
BEFORE THE ROMANS, THE GREEKS
ALSO BUILT LARGE BUILDINGS.
THE INTERIORS
WERE FILLED WITH COLUMNS
TO SUPPORT THE HEAVY
FLAT ROOF ABOVE.
BUT THE ROMANS PERFECTED
A BETTER IDEA.
THEY BUILT THE ROOF
IN SECTIONS FORMING A CURVE.
AT THE TOP,
A KEYSTONE IS DROPPED IN.
THE DOWNWARD THRUST
OF THE KEYSTONE
PUSHES THE SECTIONS OUTWARD
CREATING A PRESSURE THAT HOLDS
THE ENTIRE ROOF TOGETHER.
WITH THE CURVED ROOF,
THE COLUMNS ARE UNNECESSARY.
THE ROOF SUPPORTS ITSELF
FREEING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT
OF INTERIOR SPACE.
BY THE SECOND CENTURY A.D.
THE ROMANS HAD ENGINEERED
THE ULTIMATE DOME...
THE PANTHEON,
A TEMPLE TO ALL THE GODS.
FOR 1,500 YEARS IT STOOD
AS THE LARGEST OPEN
INTERIOR SPACE IN THE WORLD.
THIS REMARKABLE BUILDING
OWES ITS EXISTENCE
TO THE THOUSANDS OF BATHS
BUILT BEFORE IT.
WITH EACH ONE
THE ROMANS PERFECTED
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF THE DOME.
Yegul:
THE GREAT DOME OF THE PANTHEON
HAD ALREADY BEEN EXPERIMENTED
BY DOMES REACHING
HALF THAT SIZE...
WHICH IS STILL RESPECTABLE...
IN BATH BUILDINGS
THAT WERE BUILT
A GOOD 60, 70 YEARS
BEFORE THE PANTHEON.
THEY WERE REALLY THE FORERUNNERS
IN ROMAN BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
AND VERITABLE LABORATORIES
OF WORKING WITH VAULTING.
Keach:
OUR VAULTED ROOF
IS MADE OF BRICK.
THE WOOD FORMS MAINTAIN
THE DOMED SHAPE
AND HOLD THE BRICKS IN PLACE
UNTIL THE ROOF IS FINISHED.
A THIN PIECE OF WOOD
ENSURES THE CORRECT DISTANCE
AND ANGLE BETWEEN BRICKS.
IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL DAYS
TO COMPLETE THE ROOF.
MEANWHILE, TONY ROOK AND
HIS COLLEAGUE, BRYAN SCOTT,
HAVE ARRIVED.
HELLO, LOVELY
TO SEE YOU, LOVELY.
GOOD TO SEE YOU.
MY PLEASURE, FIKRET.
FIRST TIME
IN TURKEY, EH?
YES.
Keach:
AT THEIR FIRST MEETING
TONY WAS SKEPTICAL
OF FIKRET'S DESIGN...
ESPECIALLY THE HEATING SYSTEM.
NOW, I THINK WHAT WE'VE GOT...
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE...
IS CONSTRUCT SOMETHING THAT
THE ROMANS WOULD HAVE BUILT.
Keach:
TONY THOUGHT IT WOULD NEVER
HEAT UP PROPERLY
AND SOON ENOUGH HE WILL FIND OUT
IF HE WAS RIGHT.
Rook:
THE CALDARIUM ON THE NORTH SIDE.
Keach:
BEFORE HE STUDIED ARCHEOLOGY
TONY WAS
A BUILDING MATERIALS SPECIALIST.
OUR RUBBLE IS
A LOT MORE RUBBLELY
BECAUSE WE USE FLINT.
Yegul:
YEAH, I KNOW WHAT
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
Keach:
AND ONE MATERIAL IN PARTICULAR
NOW GOING ON THE VAULTED ROOF
IS CONSIDERED BY MANY
TO BE ROME'S GREATEST
CONTRIBUTION TO ENGINEERING...
CHEAP, DURABLE,
VERSATILE CONCRETE.
CONCRETE ENABLED THE ROMANS
TO BECOME SPECTACULAR BUILDERS.
WITHOUT IT, THE COLISEUM
WOULD NOT EXIST
NOR WOULD THE PANTHEON.
Rook:
CONCRETE HAS GREAT ADVANTAGE
OF BEING CAST.
IN OTHER WORDS, YOU CAN MAKE IT
ANY SHAPE YOU LIKE.
IT HAS THE GREAT ADVANTAGE
OF BEING STRONG
SO YOU CAN MAKE SHAPES
WHICH BRIDGE LARGE SPACES
AND THEREFORE YOU CAN MAKE
THINGS LIKE GREAT, BIG
PUBLIC BATHS.
Keach:
THE RECIPE FOR CONCRETE
WAS WRITTEN DOWN
BY THE ROMAN
ARCHITECT, VITRUVIUS,
IN THE FIRST CENTURY B.C.
THE MAIN INGREDIENT COMES FROM
ONE OF THE MOST COMMON MATERIALS
IN THE WORLD, LIMESTONE.
BUT IF YOU TAKE
ORDINARY LIMESTONE...
WHICH IS A PRETTY HEAVY
SORT OF STUFF...
AND HEAT IT TO RED HOT
AND LEAVE IT LONG ENOUGH
AT RED HOT
WHEN IT'S FINISH, YOU GET
STUFF WHICH IS LIKE THIS.
WHICH IS A VERY,
VERY LIGHT MATERIAL
AND THAT'S CALLED QUICKLIME.
Keach:
QUICKLIME IS CHEMICALLY
VERY DIFFERENT FROM LIMESTONE;
ALL THE CARBON DIOXIDE
HAS BEEN BURNED OFF.
THEN, WHEN WATER IS ADDED
SOMETHING STRANGE
STARTS TO HAPPEN.
Rook:
YOU CAN HEAR IT'S STARTING
TO DO SOMETHING...
IT STARTS CRACKLING.
ALL THE HISSING
IS JUST STEAM COMING OUT OF IT.
EACH INDIVIDUAL BIT IS SWELLING
AND TURNING INTO A NEW MATERIAL
BECAUSE IT IS
VERY, VERY HOT NOW.
IN FACT, YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO
PUT YOUR HAND CLOSE TO IT NOW.
IT'S SLOWLY TURNING ITSELF
INTO ONE OF THE FINEST POWDERS
YOU CAN MAKE
WHICH IS CALLED HYDRATED LIME,
OR JUST LIME.
Keach:
AS MORE WATER IS ADDED,
THE POWDER TURNS INTO A PUTTY
ADHESIVE ENOUGH TO BOND
THE COURSE MATERIALS
THAT MAKE UP CONCRETE
Rook:
LOOK, IT'S ACTUALLY BOILING
IN FRONT OF ME NOW
AND BLOWING UP
NICE BUBBLES OF STEAM.
Keach:
ADDED TO THE LIME,
SAND AND AN AGGREGATE OF ROCK.
TO MAKE THE CONCRETE WATERPROOF
THE ROMANS ALSO MIXED
IN CRUSHED TILE.
THEY PREFERRED VOLCANIC ASH
BUT IT WASN'T AVAILABLE
IN MOST PLACES.
YOU FINISH UP WITH
A BEAUTIFUL PINK CONCRETE
ABSOLUTELY
CHARACTERISTICALLY ROMAN.
YOU FIND IT IN HYPOCAUSTS...
YOU FIND IT IN BATHS...
PLACES WHERE
IT'S GOING TO BE UNDERWATER
WHERE YOU WANT
A WATERPROOF MATERIAL.
Keach:
ALMOST FOUR WEEKS... MORE THAN
HALF THE TIME HAS PASSED...
AND TEOMAN
IS ANXIOUS TO MOVE ON.
WITH THE EXTERIOR WORK
MOSTLY DONE
IT IS TIME TO TACKLE
THE HARDEST PART...
THE HEATING SYSTEM INSIDE.
THE ROOF FORMS
OVER THE FRIGIDARIUM
WILL STAY UP
A LITTLE WHILE LONGER.
BUT THE HEATING SYSTEM GOES
IN THE TEPIDARIUM AND CALDARIUM
SO THERE
THE SCAFFOLDING MUST COME DOWN.
TEARING DOWN THE VAULT PLANKING
IS A NERVE-WRACKING PROCESS.
IF THE ROOF WASN'T BUILT RIGHT,
IT MIGHT NOT HOLD TOGETHER.
EVERYONE IS RELIEVED
WHEN THE ROOF STAYS UP.
THE HEART OF THE HEATING SYSTEM
IS THE FIREPLACE
OR FURNACE AS THEY CALL IT.
FIKRET IS PUTTING ON
THE FINAL TOUCHES.
OH, MAX!
Max:
HELLO.
WELCOME, GOOD TO SEE
YOU HERE, HI!
Keach:
MAX FORDHAM AND HIS COLLEAGUE,
TRISTAN COUCH
ARE HEATING ENGINEERS.
MAX HAS DESIGNED
SOME OF THE MOST COMPLEX CLIMATE
CONTROL SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD
INCLUDING BRITAIN'S TATE GALLERY
AND THE SAVOY THEATRE.
IT'S LONG...
YEAH, AND IT'S OUR,
UH, HEATING CANAL.
Keach:
THESE RUINS FROM BATH, ENGLAND
SHOW THAT THE HEATING SYSTEM
WAS A TOUR DE FORCE
OF ROMAN ENGINEERING.
THEY EVEN HAD
A NAME FOR IT, HYPOCAUST
WHICH MEANS "FIRE UNDERNEATH".
A ROMAN WRITER CREDITED
THE INVENTION OF THE HYPOCAUST
TO AN ENTREPRENEUR NAMED SERGIUS
ORATA AND HIS LOVE FOR OYSTERS.
ORATA WANTED TO CULTIVATE
AND SELL OYSTERS
BUT HE NEEDED A CONSTANT SUPPLY
OF WARM WATER TO BREED THEM.
SO HE MOUNTED OYSTER PANS
ON PILLARS
AND LIT A FIRE UNDERNEATH.
THE HOT AIR CIRCULATED
BENEATH THE OYSTER BEDS
HEATING THE WATER INSIDE.
THE BEST TEMPERATURE
FOR BREEDING
WAS ACHIEVED BY ADJUSTING
THE SIZE OF THE FIRE.
IT'S A GOOD STORY, BUT MOST
HISTORIANS DON'T BUY IT.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF EXAMPLES...
ARCHEOLOGICALLY
BACKED EXAMPLES...
THAT SHOW US THAT
THE HYPOCAUST SYSTEMS
OR QUASI-HYPOCAUST SYSTEMS...
THINGS THAT LOOKED LIKE
HYPOCAUSTS... WERE BEING USED
EVEN DURING A GENERATION OR TWO
BEFORE ORATA'S TIME.
Keach:
THERE'S NOTHING IN THE RECORD
ABOUT HOW WELL
ORATA'S OYSTER BUSINESS DID
BUT THERE'S
A GREAT DEAL OF EVIDENCE
THAT HYPOCAUSTS EVENTUALLY
HEATED EVERY ROMAN BATH BUILT.
THE HYPOCAUST STARTS
IN THE FURNACE
WHICH CONNECTS TO THE CALDARIUM,
THE HOTTEST ROOM.
THERE IS AN OPENING ON THE RIGHT
TO THE TEPIDARIUM...
THE WARM ROOM.
PILLARS, CALLED PILAE
WILL RAISE THE FLOOR
ABOUT THREE FEET.
ON TOP OF THE PILAE
LARGE FLOOR TILES, CALLED
BIPEDALIS, WILL BE INSTALLED.
A LAYER OF CONCRETE GOES ON TOP
AND THEN ANOTHER LAYER
OF MARBLE.
FOR THE SYSTEM TO WORK
THE HOT GASES ARE DRAWN FROM
THE FURNACE THROUGH THE ROOMS
WHERE THEY RISE AND SPREAD OUT
HEATING THE FLOOR AS THEY GO.
THERE ARE FOUR FLUES,
OR CHIMNEYS
TO DRAW THE HOT GASES
TOWARD THEM
PROMOTING THE CIRCULATION
OF THE HEAT
AND PROVIDING A WAY OUT
FOR THE SMOKE.
PART OF MAX'S ROLE
IS TO ASSESS WHETHER
THE GASES WILL FLOW PROPERLY.
IF THE SYSTEM
ISN'T PULLING A DRAFT
IT WILL NEVER HEAT UP THE BATH.
DON'T BREATHE IT.
YOU SEE, THE WIND'S
DRIFTING ABOUT
AND THEN WE'LL SEE...
WHERE IT'S...
IT'S GOING QUITE
NICELY IN, LOOK.
THERE WE GO.
Keach:
THIS IS A GOOD SIGN
THAT THE SYSTEM
MIGHT BE WORKING PROPERLY...
TAKING AIR FROM THE OUTSIDE
AND DRAWING IT IN.
BUT WILL THE CHIMNEYS
DRAW AIR AS WELL?
MAX STEPS INSIDE
THE CALDARIUM TO CHECK.
THE FLAME'S DRAWING.
YOU SEE THEY'RE NOT
GOING IN YET.
Keach:
HIS METHOD
IS DECIDEDLY LOW TECH
BUT IT MAY WELL HAVE BEEN
HOW THE ROMANS TESTED IT, TOO.
Rook:
OH, DEAR,
YES, YOU'RE RIGHT.
LIKE ANYTHING.
GOOD GRIEF.
AND THEN, YOU SEE
EVEN BEING
DRAWN DOWN THERE.
Keach:
NEXT, MAX GOES TO THE FURNACE
TO SEE IF THE HEAT OF THE FIRE
WILL BE DRAWN INTO THE ROOM
AS IT SHOULD.
OH, LOOK AT THAT!
Rook:
LOOK AT THAT.
Yegul:
IT'S COMING...
IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
IT'S PLAYING
LIKE ANYTHING IN.
RIGHT, AND THAT'S
WHAT WE NEED.
Keach:
THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE A GOOD
SIGN, BUT THE ROOM IS WIDE OPEN.
IF THE RAISED FLOOR ISN'T
DESIGNED AND INSTALLED PROPERLY
THE GAS FLOW COULD BE BLOCKED
AND THE ROOM WON'T HEAT.
Fordham:
ABOUT AS FAST AS THAT
Keach:
THE MEN START BUILDING
THE PILAE.
Fordham:
TRISTAN, HERE I COME!
Keach:
AFTER THE MORTAR SETS,
MAX TRIES TO CRAWL THROUGH.
THE ROMANS WOULD HAVE BUILT
THE HEATING SYSTEM
LARGE ENOUGH FOR A SLAVE TO FIT
UNDER FOR CLEANING OR REPAIR.
IT'S JUST AS WELL
I HAVEN'T GOT MY SMART SHOES ON.
WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO
IS IMAGINE THAT, UM...
I'M SEVEN YEARS OLD
AND RATHER SMALL.
Keach:
THE PILAE IN THIS BATH
ARE SEVERAL CENTIMETERS
CLOSER TOGETHER
THAN THE ROMANS
USUALLY BUILT THEM.
MAX WORRIES IT WILL IMPEDE
THE FLOW OF HOT GASES.
Couch:
DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO
A LEFT HAND TURN THERE.
I'M JUST WONDERING.
Keach:
BUT THE SPACING OF THE PILAE
WAS LIMITED BY THE SIZE OF
THE TILES THAT WILL GO ON TOP.
I SUPPOSE YOU
HAVE TO REMEMBER
THAT YOU'VE GOT
TO GET OUT AGAIN.
YEAH.
Keach:
MAKING THOSE TILES
WAS A FRUSTRATING AND
EXPENSIVE LESSON FOR TEOMAN.
AND NOW HE HAS TO FACE
THE CRITICISM OF TONY ROOK.
THESE DON'T
LOOK VERY MUCH
LIKE THE TILES WE
WERE TALKING ABOUT,
DO THEY?
WHAT HAPPENED?
YEAH, WE HAD PROBLEMS
WITH THE MANUFACTURE
OF TILES
BECAUSE WE DIDN'T
HAVE ENOUGH TIME
TO DRY THEM OUT.
Keach:
THE CLAY TILES KEPT CRACKING.
SOME EVEN EXPLODED
INSIDE THE KILN.
THE ROMANS WOULD HAVE LET THEM
DRY FOR MONTHS, EVEN YEARS.
BUT TEOMAN ONLY HAD A FEW WEEKS.
THE FINAL SOLUTION
WAS DECIDEDLY UNROMAN.
Yalcinkaya:
AT THE END,
WE COME TO A SOLUTION
OF HAVING A FRAME
MADE OF STEEL
TO SUPPORT THE TILES,
WHICH ARE CRACKED.
INSTEAD OF PUTTING
A ONE-PIECE TILE LIKE THIS...
OH, DEAR.
WE ARE GOING TO PUT
THE TILES IN THE FRAMES.
SO IT'S GOING
TO SUPPORT IT.
WE DON'T HAVE TIME...
WE HAVE A SCHEDULE.
THEY HAVE TO CATCH UP
WITH THE SCHEDULE.
SO, THEREFORE,
WE FOUND THIS SOLUTION.
I LIKE THIS, ANYWAY.
THEREFORE, WE...
WE'RE LEARNING
A LOT HERE, YOU KNOW.
WE'RE LEARNING
THE ROMANS
KNEW HOW TO DO IT,
AND WE DON'T.
Keach:
THE FLOOR TILES,
EACH IN A STEEL FRAME
ARE CAREFULLY PLACED A FEW
INCHES AWAY FROM THE WALL.
THE REASON
WILL SOON BE APPARENT.
FOR CENTURIES, THE ROMANS
ONLY USED UNDER-FLOOR HEATING.
THEN, AROUND
THE FIRST CENTURY A.D.
ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
REVEALED SOMETHING NEW.
THIS IS EPHESUS, TURKEY
A NEARBY ROMAN CITY
WITH SEVERAL BATHS...
AND EACH ONE REVEALS
A SURPRISING NEW ADDITION...
HOLLOW CLAY BOXES, CALLED TUBULI
LINING THE WALLS
OF THE HEATED ROOMS.
THE ROMANS HAD INTRODUCED
RADIANT WALL HEATING
WHICH MADE THE SYSTEM
MUCH MORE COMPLEX.
THE TUBULI ARE PLACED
OVER THE HOLE
BETWEEN THE LEDGE
AND THE FLOOR TILE.
WHEN STACKED ON TOP
OF EACH OTHER
A VERTICAL CHANNEL IS FORMED
FOR HOT GASES TO RISE.
THE ROUND HOLES, PLACED SIDE BY
SIDE, CREATE A HORIZONTAL PATH
SO THE GASES CAN ALSO CIRCULATE
ACROSS THE WALL.
BUT WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY GET
TO THE TOP IS A MYSTERY.
THIS ANCIENT BATH AT EPHESUS
HAS NO ROOF.
THE GRAND IMPERIAL BATHS OF
CARACALLA IN ROME HAVE NO ROOF
AND NEITHER DOES
THE BATH AT SARDIS.
THERE ARE SO FEW
ARCHEOLOGICAL REMAINS
THAT OUR TEAM DIFFERED WIDELY
ABOUT HOW THE HOT GASES
MIGHT FLOW THROUGH THE TUBULI
AND VENT OUT.
Yegul:
WE KNOW HOW CONCRETE WORKS.
WE KNOW HOW CROSS VAULTS
AND BARREL VAULTS WORK.
THERE'S NO PROBLEM THERE.
THE PROBLEM IS THOSE SORT
OF SMALL DETAILS OF HEATING
AND HOW THE TUBULI WORK
HOW THE TUBULI ACTUALLY PULL THE
HOT AIR, HOW THE CHIMNEYS WORK.
AND TO THIS DAY, WE DO NOT KNOW
JUST HOW HOT WAS A ROMAN BATH?
WE HAVE NO IDEA.
Keach:
THE SYSTEM THEY SETTLED ON
WORKS LIKE THIS.
ALONG THE OPEN EDGES
OF THE FLOOR
THE HOT GASES RISE
UP THE VERTICAL CHANNELS
AND FLOW HORIZONTALLY
THROUGH THE HOLES.
WHEN THEY GET TO THE TOP,
THEY MEET UP
WITH A HORIZONTAL CHANNEL
CONNECTED TO THE CHIMNEY FLUE.
THE DRAFT FROM THE CHIMNEY
DRAWS THE HOT GASES
AND KEEPS THE CIRCULATION GOING
SO THAT A CONTINUOUS STREAM
OF HEATED AIR CYCLES THROUGH.
IBRAHIM AKYAR IS BUILDING
THE HORIZONTAL CHANNEL.
FIRST, HE CUTS THE HOLE
IN THE CHIMNEY.
THEN HE CAREFULLY
MATCHES THE OPENINGS.
THE TUBULI ARE BONDED
TO THE WALL BY MORTAR.
IT'S SIMILAR TO CONCRETE, BUT
WITHOUT THE COARSE INGREDIENTS.
TONS OF MORTAR HAVE BEEN USED
IN THIS SMALL BATH
AND GIVING IT ALL TIME TO DRY
WILL BECOME A SERIOUS PROBLEM.
THE ROMANS WOULD HAVE
ALLOWED WEEKS, EVEN MONTHS
FOR THE BUILDING TO DRY
BUT TEOMAN HAS ONLY TEN DAYS
TO COMPLETE CONSTRUCTION
AND THREE DAYS
TO HEAT UP THE BUILDING.
SUCH A TIGHT SCHEDULE COULD
BE A RECIPE FOR DISASTER
Rook:
IF YOU'VE GOT A LOT
OF MOISTURE IN A STRUCTURE
AND YOU DRY IT FAST, IT SHRINKS.
NOW, IF IT DRIES SLOWLY, THE
SHRINKAGE IS SORT OF SPREAD OUT
OVER THE WHOLE THING,
AND IT SORT OF RELAXES.
BUT IF YOU DRY IT FAST
THEN THE SHRINKAGE IS LIABLE
TO BE CONCENTRATED IN PLACES
SO IT WILL CRACK FOR THAT
REASON, AND THE OTHER THING IS
IF YOU HEAT IT, IT EXPANDS.
SO YOU'VE GOT THESE
TWO EFFECTS GOING ON.
YOU COULD HAVE...
SOMEWHERE IN THE STRUCTURE
YOU CAN HAVE ONE BIT
OF IT GETTING VERY HOT
AND ONE BIT OF IT DRYING, AND
IT'S GOING TO PULL ITSELF APART.
Keach:
TEOMAN IS WELL AWARE
OF THE PROBLEM
BUT THERE'S STILL SO MUCH TO DO.
THE HYPOCAUST FLOORS NEED
A LAYER OF CONCRETE.
FOUR TO FIVE INCHES THICK, IT
WILL TAKE SEVERAL DAYS TO DRY.
ONLY TEOMAN WILL WAIT IT OUT.
EVERYONE ELSE HAS JOBS AND
THINGS TO DO BACK HOME.
THEY'LL RETURN IN TEN DAYS
TO LIGHT THE FURNACE.
AS PLASTERING BEGINS
ON THE CEILING
THEIR PROBLEMS
ARE ABOUT TO MULTIPLY.
RAIN NOT ONLY SLOWS DOWN
TEOMAN'S SCHEDULE;
IT ALSO SOAKS
AN ALREADY WET BUILDING.
EVEN THE STRAY PUPPY THAT
ADOPTED THE BATH AS HER NEW HOME
GETS DRENCHED.
OF ALL THE ENGINEERING
ACHIEVEMENTS
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE,
ONE STANDS ABOVE ALL OTHERS.
WITHOUT IT, THERE WOULD HAVE
BEEN NO BATHS.
WITHOUT IT, THERE WOULD
HAVE BEEN NO ROME.
THE ROMAN AQUEDUCT,
THE SINGLE GREATEST SYSTEM
FOR THE TRANSPORT OF WATER KNOWN
TO THE WORLD UNTIL THIS CENTURY.
EVEN TODAY, THE WATER
OF ROME'S TREVI FOUNTAIN COMES
FROM AN ANCIENT AQUEDUCT.
Man:
ROMANS WOULD NOT TAKE "NO"
FOR AN ANSWER.
JUST LIKE THEY'D
CONQUERED OTHER PEOPLE
THEY WOULD CONQUER NATURE
WITH THEIR ENGINEERING.
IN THE END, FOR THEIR CITY
OF A MILLION PEOPLE
THEY HAD 11 AQUEDUCTS,
11 CHANNELS OF OVER 300 MILES
DELIVERING PERHAPS 150 TO 200
GALLONS PER PERSON PER DAY
AN AMAZING AMOUNT
FOR THE ANCIENT WORLD.
Keach:
THE SOURCE OF ROME'S WATER
LAY 50 MILES OUTSIDE THE CITY
IN THE FOOTHILLS
OF THE APENNINES
WHERE THE ANIO RIVER FLOWS.
BUT THE BEST DRINKING WATER
IN ALL OF ROME CAME
FROM NEARBY MOUNTAIN SPRINGS.
THIS IS WHERE THE AQUA CLAUDIA
AQUEDUCT WAS BUILT
STARTING IN 38 A.D.
BUT THERE'S NOTHING TO SEE,
BECAUSE IT'S ALL UNDERGROUND.
THE AQUA CLAUDIA BEGAN
WITH A LARGE, DEEP BASIN
THAT COLLECTED
COLD SPRING WATER.
AN UNDERGROUND AQUEDUCT
DIRECTED IT TOWARD ROME
FOLLOWING THE CONTOURS
OF THE LAND
SOMETIMES BORING DEEP
UNDER THE MOUNTAINS.
THERE WERE NO PUMPS
TO MOVE THE WATER ALONG.
THE SYSTEM WORKED
SOLELY ON GRAVITY...
A SMALL, GENTLE SLOPE
FOR ABOUT 50 MILES.
MUCH OF THE AQUA CLAUDIA
IS STILL THERE
BURIED BENEATH THE SURFACE.
PETER AICHER IS ABOUT
TO SHOW GARRETT FAGAN
SOMETHING FEW PEOPLE
HAVE EVER SEEN.
BOY, YOU CAN FEEL THAT
COOL AIR COMING OUT.
Keach:
THE FRONT FACE OF THIS MOUNTAIN
CLIFF HAS BROKEN OFF
REVEALING THE AQUA CLAUDIA
TUNNEL HIDDEN INSIDE.
THERE'S A GOOD
CHANNEL TO FOLLOW.
SURE... LET'S GO.
WATCH THE COBWEBS,
THE BATS.
YOU CAN...
RIGHT HERE
I THINK YOU CAN
SENSE THE INCLINE.
OH, YEAH.
Keach:
THEY'RE WALKING IN THE OPPOSITE
DIRECTION THE WATER FLOWED.
AS THEY MOVE DEEPER
INTO THE CHANNEL
THEY FIND, ALONG THE WALL
REMNANTS OF ROMAN
WATERPROOF CONCRETE.
AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE...
Keach:
THEY ALSO FIND A BUILDUP OF
HARD-WATER MINERAL DEPOSITS.
Aicher:
ONLY CEMENTED UP HERE
MAYBE FOUR FEET HIGH
AND THIS IS ABOUT
SIX FEET HIGH.
THIS CHANNEL WAS NOT
MEANT TO RUN FULL...
YEAH.
BE EXPOSED TO THE AIR
WHICH WAS BETTER
FOR THE WATER.
Aicher:
THIS EVENTUALLY WOULD ENCRUST
THE WHOLE CHANNEL.
SOME WERE WORSE THAN THIS.
AND THAT WOULD BE ONE OF
THE REGULAR MAINTENANCE TASKS
IS TO COME THROUGH
AND CHOP THIS AWAY
AND THEN PERHAPS TO RECOAT
IT AGAIN WITH THE CEMENT.
Keach:
THERE WAS A SURPRISING BENEFIT
TO THESE MINERAL DEPOSITS.
Aicher:
BECAUSE THIS IS HARD WATER
IS THAT THEY USED
A LOT OF LEAD PIPES.
Keach:
THEY WOULD COAT THE LEAD PIPES
USED THROUGHOUT THE CITY
PREVENTING LEAD POISONS FROM
LEACHING INTO THE WATER SUPPLY.
I SEE.
SO THEY HAD A USEFUL
FUNCTION, AS WELL.
Keach:
THE AQUA CLAUDIA
TUNNELS UNDERGROUND
FOR MORE THAN 40 MILES
BUT EVENTUALLY,
MOUNTAINS COME TO AN END.
THAT'S WHEN AQUEDUCTS EMERGE
IN A SPECTACULAR DISPLAY
OF ROMAN ENGINEERING...
GRACEFUL ARCADES
OF ARCHES 60 FEET HIGH
CARRYING WATER IN CHANNELS
ALONG THE TOP.
THIS BRIDGE CARRIED
TWO AQUEDUCTS
THE AQUA CLAUDIA ON THE BOTTOM,
AND THE MOSTLY MISSING CHANNEL
OF THE ANIO NOVIS AQUEDUCT
ON TOP.
AT PORTA MAGGIORE, ONE OF
THE HIGHEST SPOTS IN THE CITY
THE AQUA CLAUDIA, ALONG
WITH SEVEN OTHER AQUEDUCTS
FINALLY REACHES ROME.
AT THIS POINT,
THE SYSTEM SWITCHED
TO CLOSED, PRESSURIZED PIPES
WHICH DELIVERED THE WATER
ALL OVER TOWN.
Aicher:
IT CAN GO TO ALL QUARTERS OF THE
CITY, AND BACK UP INTO FOUNTAINS
FOR THE HOMES,
THE BATHS, THE INDUSTRIES
AND CLEANING THE DRAINS,
AND IN GENERAL PROVIDING WATER
FOR THIS WHOLE CITY OF A MILLION
THAT ONCE THE SYSTEM
FELL INTO RUIN
WAS NOT EQUALED AGAIN
INTO THE 1800S.
WOW!
Keach:
AQUEDUCTS WERE BUILT
THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
ALMOST 2,000 YEARS AGO
AN AQUEDUCT SLOPED
DOWN THE TMOLOS MOUNTAINS
TO SUPPLY THE BATH AT SARDIS.
IT USED THOUSANDS OF GALLONS
OF WATER EVERY DAY
BUT IT NEVER WENT TO WASTE.
AFTER THE WATER WAS DRAINED
FROM THE BATHS
IT WAS CHANNELED THROUGH
THIS MULTI-SEAT LATRINE
AS A FLUSHING SYSTEM.
WITH SEATS LINING ALL THE WALLS
THIS LATRINE ACCOMMODATED
TWO DOZEN PEOPLE.
IT OFFERS A REVEALING LOOK
AT ROMAN CULTURE
WHERE PERSONAL HABITS
WERE SURPRISINGLY PUBLIC.
IF YOU LOOK AT ME
I'M SITTING REALLY
VERY CLOSE TO MY NEIGHBORS.
IF THIS IS A BUSY TIME,
THEN I'M SORT OF SITTING HERE.
AND WOULD I HAVE WOMEN
BESIDE ME, PERHAPS?
AND I THINK THE ANSWER IS YES.
AND SOME CONSIDERATION
OF ROMAN CLOTHING, PERHAPS
HELPS TO PRESERVE THE MODESTY
OF THE INDIVIDUAL TOILET USERS
BECAUSE THEY WOULD JUST
SIMPLY SORT OF PULL UP
THEIR TOGAS AND TUNICS,
THEN THEY COULD SIT HERE
AND EVERYTHING
WASN'T HANGING OUT.
BUT THAT DOESN'T ACCOUNT
FOR NOISES, ODORS
WHICH YOU WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY HEAR
WHICH WOULD BE REMARKABLE, TO
THE MODERN WESTERN TOILET USER
TO THINK OF THAT POSSIBILITY.
Keach:
WITH THE RAIN, THE MARBLING
INSIDE THE BATHHOUSE
IS GOING VERY SLOWLY.
AS THEY PUT MORTAR ON ONE SIDE
OF THE FRIGIDARIUM WALL
THE MARBLE
ON THE OTHER SIDE BUCKLES.
THE MORTAR IS SO WET,
IT SETTLED TO THE BOTTOM
AND PUSHED THE MARBLE OUT.
SECTIONS OF THIS WALL
WILL HAVE TO BE REDONE.
FOR TEOMAN, THIS
IS THE LAST STRAW.
EVEN THOUGH THE SKY
IS BEGINNING TO CLEAR
HE'S WORRIED THE BUILDING
WON'T DRY OR HEAT UP PROPERLY.
HE NEEDS SOME ADVICE.
BUT WITHOUT MAX OR TONY AT HAND
TEOMAN DRIVES DOWN
TO THE VILLAGE FOR HELP.
THERE'S NO HEATING ENGINEER
HERE, BUT THERE IS A BAKER...
WHO FIRES HIS OVEN EVERY DAY...
HE AGREES TO COME UP
TO THE SITE.
IN THE MEANTIME, THE WOOD FUEL
THAT TEOMAN ORDERED HAS ARRIVED
AT LEAST A WEEK'S WORTH OF IT.
Yalcinkaya:
I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED
ABOUT THE FIRING OF THE FURNACE.
AND SAID THAT WE WANT TO FIRE IT
IN THREE DAYS, BUT HE OBJECTED.
HE SAID WE WILL HAVE CRACKS
YOU KNOW, IF WE FIRE IT
IN THREE DAYS.
BUT IF WE LET IT LAID OVER EIGHT
DAYS INSTEAD OF THREE DAYS
THEN THERE WILL BE A SLOWER...
I MEAN, LESS HEAT, SLOW HEAT,
BUT A PERMANENT HEAT.
Keach:
THE WHOLE TEAM WAS LOOKING
FORWARD TO LIGHTING THE FIRE.
BUT TEOMAN HAS MADE A RISKY
DECISION: TO LIGHT IT EARLY
IN THE HOPES
OF DRYING THE BUILDING.
IT'S A TENSE TIME.
WILL THE FURNACE DRAW PROPERLY?
WILL THE CHIMNEYS VENT?
WILL THE ROOMS HEAT UP?
AND MOST IMPORTANT,
WILL THE BUILDING CRACK?
AFTER A HALF HOUR,
THINGS AREN'T LOOKING SO GOOD.
MOST OF THE HEAT IS HEADING
THE WRONG DIRECTION...
OUT OF THE FURNACE.
THE BAKER WILL PUSH THE FIRE
DEEP UNDER THE CALDARIUM
CLOSER TO THE CHIMNEYS.
AND A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER,
IT'S A SIGHT TO BEHOLD.
NOT ONLY IS SMOKE POURING OUT
OF THE CHIMNEY, BUT INSIDE
IT'S EVEN SEEPING OUT OF THE
UNFINISHED PARTS OF THE DOORWAY
BETWEEN THE SEAMS OF THE TUBULI.
YOU SEE, THE SMOKE IS COMING
BETWEEN THE SEAMS OF THE TUBULI.
I MEAN, THAT MEANS... THAT SHOWS
THAT IT'S FUNCTIONING.
YOU SEE, IT'S WARM.
IT'S WARM AND IT'S GOING
TO GIVE ITS...
EVEN THE PLASTER
IS WARMING UP SLOWLY.
IT'S GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT.
IT WILL BE HOT.
Keach:
FOUR MORE NIGHTS AND THE OTHERS
WILL ARRIVE TO SEE IT.
CONGRATULATIONS, TEOMAN,
IT'S SMOKING!
IT IS SMOKING, YOU SEE?
IT'S SMOKING.
SO YOU CAN SEE
FROM OVER HERE.
REAL SMOKE,
NOT A CARD TRICK?
NO, IT'S REAL SMOKE.
IT'S REAL SMOKE.
Fordham:
WE'VE GOT
A SMOKE BOMB.
Yegul:
WHICH ONES ARE PULLING?
ALL OF THEM.
ALL OF THEM?
YES, ALL OF THEM.
Fordham:
GUARANTEED?
GUARANTEED, YES.
WELL, I CAN GIVE
A WARRANTY PAPER FOR THAT.
ACTUALLY, IT'S NOT SURPRISING
AT ALL, IS IT?
IT'S JUST GOOD DESIGN.
Keach:
FIKRET COULDN'T RESIST
A LITTLE JAB
AT THOSE WHO HAD DOUBTED
HIS DESIGN.
Yalcinkaya:
BETTER WE CAN GO AROUND HERE.
Keach:
INSIDE, THEY START FEELING
THE WALLS
TO SEE IF THE TUBULI
ARE HEATING UP EVENLY.
THE FLUE SOMEWHERE
AROUND HERE, YOU SEE.
Couch:
YOU CAN REALLY
FEEL IT HERE
YES.
Keach:
BUT MAX HAS BROUGHT
SOME EQUIPMENT
THAT CAN SEE RIGHT
THROUGH THE WALLS...
AN INFRARED CAMERA
THAT SHOWS HEAT RANGES BY COLOR.
WHITE IS OFF THE CHARTS, RED
IS ABOUT 250 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
THEN THE TEMPERATURE DESCENDS
FROM YELLOW, TO GREEN, TO BLUE
AND SO ON.
THE BLACK AREAS ARE
WHERE THE TUBULI STOP.
Fordham:
HOTTER THAN THE FLUES.
Keach:
IT'S TELLING EVERYONE WHERE
THE GASES ARE FLOWING INSIDE.
Fordham:
WELL, I THINK
IT'S ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL
THIS CHIMNEY, LOOK,
GOING UP THERE.
Yegul:
THE CHIMNEY REALLY LOOKS
EXTREMELY CLEAR, DOESN'T IT?
DOESN'T IT?
IT'S LIKE A SHARP PEAK.
THAT IS CONSISTENTLY
THE HOTTEST CHIMNEY
WITH THE MOST
GAS FLOW IN IT.
Keach:
WITH THE CONSTRUCTION
ALMOST DONE
AND THE BUILDING HEATING UP
IT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL ACT...
HEATING UP THE BATH WATER.
NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE
TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER
ACTUALLY WAS
BUT THERE ARE HINTS...
ANCIENT STORIES OF WATER SO HOT
THAT HEAVY DRINKERS WOULD HAVE
TO BE CARRIED OUT UNCONSCIOUS.
THE SYSTEM THEY USED
TO HEAT THE WATER
WAS SURPRISINGLY SIMILAR TO
OURS TODAY... A HOT WATER BOILER.
MODELED AFTER A BOILER
FOUND IN THE RUINS
OF A ROMAN BATH IN ALGERIA
THIS ONE WILL BE INSTALLED
IN THE MORNING.
A SIMPLE TASK THAT WILL STIR UP
SOME SIMMERING TENSIONS.
WE THINK THE HOT WATER
SHOULD COME OUT
OF THAT ONE.
IS THAT
THE HOT WATER?
Keach:
AS THE DAY BEGINS, TONY
AND BRYAN SUGGEST A CHANGE
IN THE PLUMBING CONNECTIONS
TO THE BOILER.
THE HOT WATER
WITH THE COLD
TO THAT ONE
ALL THAT HOT WATER
STAYS IN IT...
YOU CAN'T
GET THAT OUT.
IF YOU TAKE IT
OUT OF THAT ONE
YOU'LL GET
THE EXTRA BIT.
YES, BUT, UH, THAT
WILL BE SUFFICIENT
FOR OUR PURPOSE.
WE DON'T THINK
IT WILL.
WELL, IF...
WHY DON'T YOU THINK
IT WILL NOT BE?
WELL, BECAUSE
WE'VE CALCULATED...
Keach:
THE TANK IS DESIGNED TO HAVE
THE HOT WATER COME OUT
OF ONE OF THESE
SIDE CONNECTIONS.
BUT TONY AND BRYAN BELIEVE
THAT IF IT CAME OUT THE TOP
THE BOILER WOULD BE
MORE EFFICIENT.
THEY MIGHT BE RIGHT
BUT IT IS, PERHAPS,
ONE CRITICISM TOO MANY...
THE ATMOSPHERE BECOMES CHARGED.
WHY SHOULD WE TAKE
THE RISK, YOU KNOW?
DON'T YOU SEE
THE ADVANTAGE
THAT IF WE'RE RIGHT
THEN IT WILL WORK
AND WE'RE NOT
LOSING ANYTHING.
THIS PART MIGHT HAVE BEEN
QUITE SUFFICIENT, TOO.
I DON'T
THINK IT WILL.
HOW CAN YOU
BE SO SURE?
THE TROUBLE IS,
WE ALSO CALCULATE
THAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE
A WHOLE DAY TO HEAT THIS UP.
NO, WE'RE JUST...
WELL, WE'VE GONE
THROUGH THIS THING BEFORE
IF YOU KNOW ABOUT
THE HEATING SYSTEM.
YOU SAID YOU HAD
THE SAME RESERVATIONS
AND THE DIRE PREDICTIONS,
AND IT'S WORKING LIKE A CHARM.
IT ISN'T WORKING YET
BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T
YET GOT IT WORKING.
WE HAVEN'T PUT
THE BOILER ON IT YET.
WE HAVEN'T GOT IT
TO 50 CENTIGRADE YET.
WHO SAYS WE HAVE
TO GET TO 50
CENTIGRADE?
DO YOU KNOW ROMAN BATHS
HEATED TO 50 CENTIGRADE?
WHERE DO YOU
TAKE THAT NUMBER,
OUT OF YOUR HAT?
NO, I TAKE THAT NUMBER
OUT OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF HEATING AND REFRIGERATION
AND AIR CONDITIONING ENGINEERS.
AND HOW DOES
THAT RELATE?
OH, WELL, BECAUSE THAT
IS QUITE WELL RESEARCHED.
Keach:
MAX, THE ENGINEER, WANTS
TO TEST THE HEATING SYSTEM
TO ITS ENGINEERING LIMIT.
FIKRET, THE HISTORIAN,
WANTS ONLY TO HEAT IT
TO THE LIMIT OF A TURKISH BATH.
IT BECOMES A CLASH OF
PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINES.
Fordham:
BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER
WHAT THE TEMPERATURE IS.
Yegul:
TURKISH BATHS ARE ALL AROUND,
AND FUNCTIONING, TODAY...
YOU'VE BEEN IN ONE!
AT A SLIGHTLY LOWER
TEMPERATURE, I KNOW.
I HAVE DONE RESEARCH
ABOUT TURKISH BATHS...
IT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED.
OKAY! BUT WHAT WE'RE
TRYING TO DO HERE...
50 IS OUT
OF THE QUESTION, PERIOD.
Rook:
I THINK IT'S HIGH.
BUT THERE WERE NOT
PREDICTIONS MADE.
Yegul:
50 IS OUT
OF THE QUESTION.
YOU ARE TALKING
OUT OF YOUR HAT.
YOU HAVE NO GROUND
TO STAND ON
AND THIS BATH
HEATING SYSTEM...
I DO HAVE GROUND
TO STAND ON BECAUSE...
Keach:
THE ARGUMENT GOES ON
UNTIL THEY REACH A COMPROMISE...
THE BATH WILL ONLY BE HEATED
TO 40 DEGREES CENTIGRADE
BUT THE CHANGES WILL BE MADE
TO THE BOILER.
AND THEN WE GET
THE THING GOING...
Keach:
THE HOT WATER CONNECTIONS
ARE QUICKLY RECONFIGURED.
THE BOILER IS MOVED
INTO PLACE AND ATTACHED.
MAX RETURNS TO HIS TESTING
AND MEASURING.
THIS TIME HE'S CHECKING
THE DEPTH OF THE RESERVOIR
WHERE WATER FOR THE BATH
IS STORED.
OF COURSE, THERE'S NO AQUEDUCT
TO FILL IT
SO THEY'LL PUMP WATER IN
FROM A TANK.
TO PUT EVERYONE IN
THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND
TONY ROOK AND BRYAN
DON THEIR TUNICS
AND TAKE OVER THE OPERATION
OF THE FURNACE.
Rook:
WHAT WE'VE GOT TO DO IS
GET THE FIRE UNDER THE BOILER.
Keach:
WITH THE BUILDING HEATED
THEY CAN PULL THE FIRE BACK
FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE CALDARIUM
TO WHERE IT BELONGS...
UNDER THE BOILER.
BECAUSE WHAT
WE WANT NOW
IS TO GET THE FIRE
UNDER THE BOILER
SO THAT THE BOILER WILL,
QUITE LITERALLY, BOIL.
WE'VE GOT TO HAVE
ENOUGH BOILING WATER
IN THERE...
Keach:
IT WILL TAKE ALL DAY
FOR THE WATER TO HEAT UP.
IN THE MEANTIME, A FEW FINISHING
TOUCHES ARE LEFT INSIDE:
A MARBLE MOSAIC FOR THE FLOOR
AND A FRESCO FOR THE WALL...
COPIED FROM A ROMAN HOUSE
IN EPHESUS, TURKEY.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, TONY
AND BRYAN TURN ON THE WATER.
IT TAKES SEVERAL HOURS
TO FILL THE POOL.
TOMORROW IS BATH TIME.
THE TEAM HAS WAITED SEVEN WEEKS
AND A LIFETIME
FOR THIS EXPERIENCE.
BUT WHILE EVERYONE SLEEPS,
SOMETHING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG.
WE'VE GOT PROBLEMS
WELL, WHAT HAVE
WE GOT HERE TEOMAN?
WE HAVE LEAKAGE HERE,
FROM THE POOL.
Keach:
TEOMAN BELIEVES
THE PROBLEM STEMS
FROM HEATING THE BATH EARLY
BEFORE THE MARBLE WALLS
WERE COMPLETELY DRY.
THE MORTAR AT THE JOINTS DIDN'T
HAVE THE PROPER SETTING TIME
AND IT CRACKED.
Yalcinkaya:
YES... SO, I MEAN,
IT'S LEAKING CONTINUOUSLY.
WHATEVER YOU PUT INSIDE,
IT'S LEAKING.
WE'VE LOST THE CONTENTS
OF THE WHOLE BATH.
YES.
Keach:
THERE IS A QUICK SOLUTION...
SILICON SEALANT.
IT'S NOT ROMAN,
BUT TIME HAS RUN OUT
AND EVERYONE IS ANXIOUS
TO TAKE THEIR BATH.
WASN'T TODAY THE DAY
OF THE GREAT HOT BATH?
Yalcinkaya:
YEAH, WELL...
AND I SOUND AS THOUGH I NEED IT.
YOU WILL PROBABLY
HAVE A BATH.
BUT IF YOU
DON'T HAVE IT
I'LL TAKE YOU
TO A TURKISH BATH.
AH, THAT'LL DO.
Keach:
WITH SOME LINGERING DOUBTS
EVERYONE GATHERS
FOR A FINAL LUNCH...
A VERY LENGTHY LUNCH
WHILE THE POOL SLOWLY FILLS.
FEW PEOPLE HAVE WAITED SO LONG
TO TAKE A BATH.
BY LATE AFTERNOON, THEY HAVE
A DATE WITH HISTORY.
Keach:
REAL ROMANS
WOULD BE BATHING NAKED
BUT, REAL ROMANS WOULDN'T BE
BATHING ON NATIONAL TELEVISION.
FOR THESE MEN, A WELL-PLACED
TOWEL CAN PROTECT THEIR MODESTY.
THE WATER IS ABOUT
100 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
THE ROOM IS EVEN HOTTER.
Fagan:
TO STEP IN A BATH HOUSE WAS TO
STEP IN TO THE ARMS OF PLEASURE.
TO EXPERIENCE THE RELAXING
EFFECTS OF THE WARM WATER
AND THE WARM AIR
TO SOCIALIZE WITH FRIENDS
AND NEIGHBORS...
AN ALTOGETHER
A JOYFUL EXPERIENCE.
Keach:
AS THEY FILE OUT
OF THE HOT BATH
GARRETT IS REMINDED WHERE
THE HEAT IS COMING FROM.
WATCH THE FLOOR!
Keach:
LIKE GOOD ROMANS,
THEY HEAD FOR THE COLD ROOM.
THE FRIGIDARIUM POOL
HAS LEAKED AS WELL.
IT MAKES THE ACT OF SUBMERGING
A BIT UNDIGNIFIED.
BUT IT'S A REQUIRED PART
OF THE FULL EXPERIMENT.
Yegul:
THIS THE ONLY
SCIENTIFIC EXPERIENCE
THAT I KNOW IN THE WORLD
WHICH HAS RECREATED
A MODEL ROMAN BATH, TRUTHFULLY
USING ANCIENT MATERIALS
AND ANCIENT METHODS...
AS MUCH AS WE COULD.
AND I WOULD DEARLY LOVE
THIS MONUMENT TO BE PRESERVED
AND TO BE KNOWN IN THE
SCIENTIFIC AND HUMANISTIC WORLD.
Keach:
TODAY, THE LITTLE BATH
STILL STANDS
IN AN OLIVE GROVE
IN SART, TURKEY.
TEOMAN STILL LIVES
AND WORKS NEARBY;
IT WILL BE SAFE IN HIS HANDS.
Yalcinkaya:
WE'LL COME AND CHECK
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HERE.
AND IT MIGHT TURN OUT
TO BE A PLACE
FOR ACADEMIC PEOPLE
AND THE TOURISTS TO VISIT.
SO, THERE WILL BE SOMETHING NICE
COMING OUT OF IT AT THE END,
IT LOOKS LIKE.
NEXT WEEK ON
SEEKERS OF LOST EMPIRES
STEEPED IN LEGEND,
LOST TO TIME
A MARVEL OF DESIGN
AND CRAFTSMANSHIP.
WHAT SECRETS
CAN THE STRUCTURE REVEAL
ABOUT ITS ANCIENT BUILDERS?
SPEND A DAY AT THE ROMAN BATHS
SEE WHAT'S
ON THE MENU.
ENJOY
THE ENTERTAINMENT.
IMMERSE YOURSELF
IN NOVA'S WEB SITE.
TO ORDER THE SECRETS OF
LOST EMPIRES FIVE-VIDEO SET
WITH A FREE
FAMILY ACTIVITY BOOK
PLEASE CALL WGBH BOSTON VIDEO
AT 1-800-255-9424.
THE FAMILY ACTIVITY BOOK
IS ALSO AVAILABLE SEPARATELY
FOR SHIPPING AND HANDLING ONLY.
THEY TELL INTRIGUING STORY...
I BELIEVE THAT
I'M A BLACK JEW.
BUT CAN CUTTING-EDGE GENETICS
TRACE THE LEMBA
TO "THE LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL?
NEXT ON NOVA.
NOVA IS A PRODUCTION
OF WGBH BOSTON.
MIST RISES OFF THESE WATERS
AS IT HAS FOR CENTURIES.
HOT SPRINGS BUBBLE
INTO A LEAD-LINED POOL.
AGAINST THIS ANCIENT BACKDROP
AN UNUSUAL GATHERING
IS TAKING PLACE.
ALTHOUGH MOST OF THESE PEOPLE
HAVE NEVER MET
TOGETHER THEY WILL TAKE
A JOURNEY INTO HISTORY...
WHEN THE PUBLIC BATH
WAS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
BUILDINGS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
2,000 YEARS AGO
THE BATH WAS NOT JUST
A PLACE FOR THE HIGHBORN.
IT WAS A COMMUNITY CENTER
AND A DAILY RITUAL THAT DEFINED
WHAT IT MEANT TO BE ROMAN.
Man:
IT MUST HAVE BEEN A SIGHT
THE LIKE OF WHICH THE MODERN
MIND FINDS DIFFICULT TO IMAGINE.
NOT ONLY IS THERE SPLENDOR
OF THE ENVIRONMENT
BUT CROWDS OF PEOPLE.
THERE IS FIRM EVIDENCE
THAT MEN AND WOMEN
DID BATHE
COMPLETELY NAKED TOGETHER.
AND ALL THE TIME, NOISE.
ROMANS LOVED TO CONVERSE
AND ARGUE AND DISCUSS.
PEOPLE WOULD BE
SHOUTING AND LAUGHING.
PEOPLE WOULD BE DRINKING.
SOME PEOPLE
WOULD HAVE DRUNK TOO MUCH.
PEOPLE WOULD BE
SINGING IN THE BATH.
Narrator:
UNDERLYING ALL THE LUXURY
WERE ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES...
COPIOUS SUPPLIES OF HOT AND COLD
WATER PIPED IN FROM MILES AWAY
ROOMS OF INTOXICATING WARMTH
MADE POSSIBLE BY
SOPHISTICATED HEATING SYSTEMS.
BUT WHEN THE ROMAN
EMPIRE COLLAPSED
THE WORLD FELL INTO DARKNESS
AND THE ART AND SCIENCE
OF THE BATHS WAS LOST...
UNTIL NOW.
AFTER 2,000 YEARS,
NOVA WILL BUILD A ROMAN BATH
AND STRIVE TO UNCOVER
THE SECRETS
OF THE MOST TECHNOLOGICALLY
ADVANCED BUILDING
OF THE ANCIENT WORLD.
[Captioning sponsored
by PARK FOUNDATION, CNET
NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL LIFE
THE CORPORATION
FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
Keach:
THE ROMAN BATH WAS ONCE
A TECHNOLOGICAL MARVEL.
TODAY IT'S
A TECHNOLOGICAL MYSTERY.
A MYSTERY THAT
THIS GROUP OF ENGINEERS
ARCHEOLOGISTS AND HISTORIANS
ARE HOPING TO SOLVE
AS THEY JOURNEY INTO THE MIND
OF THE ANCIENT BUILDERS.
Man:
I DON'T THINK
THE ROMANS
WOULD HABITUALLY HAVE BUILT
SOMETHING THAT DIDN'T WORK.
THEY MIGHT HAVE MADE
MISTAKES OCCASIONALLY.
Keach:
FIKRET YEGUL IS AN ARCHITECT
AND EXPERT ON ANCIENT BATHS.
IS NOT A DESIGN
THAT WE CREATED.
WE DON'T EVEN TAKE...
Keach:
AFTER A LIFETIME OF STUDY
HE IS DESIGNING
HIS FIRST ROMAN BATH
WITH HELP FROM
TEOMAN YALCINKAYA
AN ENGINEER WHO WILL BUILD IT.
BUT THE ROMANS LEFT
NO BLUEPRINTS
NO TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS.
ALL THEY HAVE TO GO ON
ARE THE RUINS THAT REMAIN
AFTER 2,000 YEARS...
CRUMBLING EVIDENCE
OF HEATING SYSTEMS
THAT REVEAL LITTLE
OF HOW THEY WORKED;
REMNANTS OF PIPE
THAT SUGGEST COMPLEX PLUMBING.
EVEN THE POOLS WHERE THE ROMANS
BATHED HAVE FALLEN INTO RUIN.
Yegul:
THIS IS REALLY AN IMITATION
OF A TYPE OF ROMAN BATH
THAT I HAVE SEEN AND WORKED
AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN.
THAT'S INTERESTING,
BECAUSE I HAVEN'T.
Keach:
AMONG HIS COLLEAGUES HERE,
FIKRET'S DESIGN IS PROBLEMATIC.
MOST OF THEM THINK
IT WON'T WORK.
I THINK WE'RE RATHER A LONG WAY
AWAY FROM THE ROMANS HERE.
Keach:
WHO WERE THESE ROMAN BUILDERS?
EMANATING FROM THE CITY OF ROME
THEIR EMPIRE SPANNED
MORE THAN 3,000 MILES
FROM SYRIA TO SCOTLAND
AND REIGNED SUPREME
FOR A THOUSAND YEARS.
FEW CIVILIZATIONS
BEFORE OR SINCE
HAVE BUILT WITH SUCH INTENSITY...
SPECTACULAR FEATS OF ENGINEERING
AND MAGNIFICENT MONUMENTS.
BUILDING WAS INGRAINED
IN THE ROMAN CHARACTER.
Yegul:
UNLIKE THE GREEKS
WHO WERE PROBABLY
MORE INTERESTED
IN THE PRISTINE BEAUTY OF THINGS
ROMANS WERE MORE
FUNCTIONAL PEOPLE.
THEY WERE PROUD TO BRING WATER
TO THEIR CITIES.
THEY WERE PROUD
TO OPEN COMFORTABLE
AND SAFE HIGHWAYS TO TRAVEL ON
AND BRIDGES TO CROSS VALLEYS
AND RIVERBEDS.
Keach:
BUT THE REAL GENIUS
OF THE ROMAN ENGINEERS
WAS EXPLOITING WHAT THEY LEARNED
FROM OTHER CULTURES.
Man:
AS THEY SPREAD ACROSS
THE MEDITERRANEAN
COMING INTO CONTACT
AND ACTUALLY CONQUERING
ONE LAND AFTER ANOTHER
THEY WOULD ABSORB
A LOT OF THE IDEAS
AND DEVELOP
SOME OF THE TECHNOLOGIES
THAT HAD BEEN STARTED
IN OTHER LANDS.
Keach:
WITH IDEAS, MONEY
AND SLAVE LABOR
APPROPRIATED FROM
CONQUERED NATIONS
THE EMPERORS OF ROME BUILT
INCREASINGLY COMPLEX STRUCTURES.
AMONG THEM, THE BATHS.
THE ROMANS BUILT SO MANY OF THEM
THE BATHS BECAME
AN EXPERIMENTAL LABORATORY
TO TEST OUT NEW CONCEPTS.
Yegul:
THE BATHS OCCUPY
A SPECIAL POSITION
IN THE COURSE OF ROMAN
ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURE.
IT'S A BUILDING TYPE
EXTREMELY ADVANCED
IN ITS VAULTING TECHNIQUES
WATER SUPPLY
AND HEATING TECHNIQUES
AND SOME OF
THE EARLIEST EXPERIMENTS
IN ROMAN CONCRETE TECHNOLOGY.
Keach:
IN MODERN-DAY TURKEY
LIES AN ANCIENT ROMAN CITY
CALLED SARDIS.
IT'S HERE, IN THE SHADOW
OF THE BATH AT SARDIS
THAT NOVA WILL TRY TO UNCOVER
THE SECRETS THAT HAVE BEEN LOST
FOR CENTURIES.
BUILDING A ROMAN BATH
BEGINS THE SAME WAY IT DID
2,000 YEARS AGO...
WITH A GOOD PIECE OF LAND.
FIKRET YEGUL HAS ARRIVED
WITH TEOMAN YALCINKAYA
AN ENGINEER WITH
AN INTERESTING SIDELINE.
I THINK THIS SITE
MAY BE
THE IDEAL PLACE
FOR THE PLACEMENT
OF THE BATH.
Keach:
FOR 30 YEARS,
TEOMAN HAS ALSO BEEN A MEMBER
OF THE SARDIS EXCAVATION TEAM.
NOW, THE SUN
IS RISING HERE...
FROM THE EAST,
FROM OVER THERE
AND GOING TO
THE WEST OVER THERE.
Keach:
THE ROMANS UNDERSTOOD
SOLAR HEATING
AND MADE BEST USE OF THE SUN'S
WARMTH BY ORIENTING THE WINDOWS
OF THE HOTTEST ROOM
TOWARD THE SOUTH.
WITH AN EXPOSURE
TO THE SOUTH
AND THE WEST
WE HAVE THE IDEAL
ROMAN WAY OF DOING THINGS.
Keach:
THE NEXT STEP IS TO MARK
THE FOOTPRINT OF THE BUILDING
IN THE GROUND.
THIS BATH WILL BE SMALL,
LIKE THE PRIVATE BATHS
ATTACHED TO THE HOMES
OF VERY RICH ROMANS.
THE SHEEP ARE ABOUT TO LOSE
THEIR FAVORITE GRAZING AREA
TO AN EXPERIMENT IN HISTORY.
IT WILL TAKE ALL DAY JUST TO
MARK AND PREPARE THE FOUNDATION.
IN THE MEANTIME, GARRETT FAGAN
HAS ALSO ARRIVED IN TURKEY.
AN EXPERT IN ROMAN CULTURE
HE IS HERE TO EXPERIENCE
A TURKISH HAMAM
A DIRECT DESCENDANT OF
THE ROMAN BATH.
Fagan:
THIS IS A HOT ROOM.
IT'S OVER 100 DEGREES IN HERE
AND I HAVE TO PERSPIRE IN HERE.
WHAT I DO IS
I LIE DOWN ON THIS SLAB
AND FOR ABOUT TEN MINUTES,
AND RELAX AND SWEAT.
IN THE ROMAN BATH,
THE SYSTEM WAS QUITE DIFFERENT.
THEY WOULD COME INTO
A MEDIUM HEATED ROOM
WHERE THEY WOULD BE OILED DOWN
BY A SLAVE.
THEY MIGHT HAVE DIRT
THROWN ON THEM AT THAT STAGE
IF THEY WANTED
TO WRESTLE OUTSIDE.
THE NEXT PROCESS
WAS TO GO OUTSIDE
INTO THE EXERCISE YARD,
THE PALAESTRA.
Keach:
THE EXERCISE WASN'T STRENUOUS.
IT WAS JUST MEANT
TO WORK UP A SWEAT.
THE ROMANS WOULD HAVE COME IN
FROM THE EXERCISE GROUND
COVERED IN THEIR OIL
AND SWEAT...
AND THERE THEY
WOULD HAVE BEEN STRIGILED
IN THIS RATHER UNUSUAL PROCESS
INVOLVING THESE IMPLEMENTS
CALLED STRIGILS.
Keach:
ROMANS DID NOT HAVE SOAP.
THEY JUST SCRAPED OFF
THE DIRT AND OIL.
Fagan:
THEN THEY WOULD FLICK IT
ONTO THE GROUND
AND ONTO THE WALLS OF THE BATH.
IMAGINE THE GERMS AND BACTERIA
THAT ACCUMULATED
IN THIS SUBSTANCE
THAT THE GREEKS CALLED "GLOIOS."
Keach:
UNAWARE OF GERMS
ROMAN DOCTORS COLLECTED
THE GLOIOS FROM THE FLOOR
AND MIXED IT
INTO MEDICINAL OINTMENTS.
AFTER SPONGING DOWN
THE NEXT STEP WAS
DECIDEDLY LESS PLEASANT.
BODY HAIR WAS NOT FASHIONABLE
IN ANCIENT ROME
SO THE BATHER COULD HIRE
A DEPILATOR... A HAIR PLUCKER.
Fagan:
AND THEY WOULD
PLUCK OUT THE HAIRS
EVEN THEIR UNDERARM HAIRS.
AND, IN FACT, SENECA THE YOUNGER
HE DESCRIBES THE HOWLS
OF THE DEPILATORS
WHO ARE LOOKING FOR CUSTOMERS
WHICH ARE ONLY EXCEEDED
BY THE HOWLS OF THE CUSTOMERS
WHO ARE BEING PLUCKED.
Keach:
AFTER A GENTLE SOAPING,
GARRETT'S HAMAM WILL BE OVER.
BUT A ROMAN BATH
LASTED SEVERAL HOURS
CULMINATING IN THE CALDARIUM
WHERE THE FLOOR WAS SO HOT
WOODEN SANDALS
WERE AN ABSOLUTE NECESSITY.
THE REST OF THE AFTERNOON
WAS SPENT SOCIALIZING
AND ARRANGING
THE EVENING'S ACTIVITY.
GARRETT ALSO HOPES
TO EXPERIENCE A ROMAN BATH...
BUT HE'LL HAVE TO WAIT
UNTIL IT'S BUILT.
AS GROUNDBREAKING BEGINS
TEOMAN HAS A TOUGH JOB
AHEAD OF HIM.
LIMITED TO THE TOOLS
AND TECHNIQUES
KNOWN IN ANCIENT TIMES
HE HAS AGREED TO BUILD
THE BATH IN SEVEN WEEKS.
FOR THE ROMANS,
IT MIGHT HAVE TAKEN MONTHS.
NOVA SET UP A TIME-LAPSE CAMERA
TO CAPTURE EVERY MINUTE
OF THE ACTION.
THE STONES HAVE BEEN DELIVERED
AND THE FOUNDATION
BEGINS TO TAKE SHAPE.
THERE WILL BE THREE ROOMS...
THE BARE NECESSITY
FOR A PROPER ROMAN BATH.
THE FRIGIDARIUM, OR COLD ROOM
WILL HAVE A ROUND
COLD POOL IN THE APSE.
THE TEPIDARIUM, OR WARM ROOM
IS WHERE THE BATHERS
WILL CHANGE THEIR CLOTHES
AND HAVE A MASSAGE.
AND IN THE CALDARIUM,
OR HOT ROOM
THERE IS A HEATED POOL
TOWARD THE BACK.
FROM COLD TO WARM TO HOT...
IT'S ALL A PRODUCT
OF THE HEATING SYSTEM.
BELOW THE HOT POOL
A FIREPLACE OR FURNACE
WILL HEAT THE FLOOR
THREE WALLS OF THE CALDARIUM,
AND ONE WALL OF THE TEPIDARIUM.
WHETHER THE HEATING SYSTEM
WILL WORK OR NOT
REMAINS TO BE SEEN.
THE WALLS MUST GO UP.
TWO WEEKS OF WORK
IS COLLAPSED INTO 20 SECONDS.
HERE, ONE OF ROME'S GREATEST
ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENTS
IS BEGINNING TO TAKE SHAPE.
THE VAULTED OR DOMED ROOF
WAS A TECHNOLOGICAL
LEAP FORWARD IN ARCHITECTURE.
BEFORE THE ROMANS, THE GREEKS
ALSO BUILT LARGE BUILDINGS.
THE INTERIORS
WERE FILLED WITH COLUMNS
TO SUPPORT THE HEAVY
FLAT ROOF ABOVE.
BUT THE ROMANS PERFECTED
A BETTER IDEA.
THEY BUILT THE ROOF
IN SECTIONS FORMING A CURVE.
AT THE TOP,
A KEYSTONE IS DROPPED IN.
THE DOWNWARD THRUST
OF THE KEYSTONE
PUSHES THE SECTIONS OUTWARD
CREATING A PRESSURE THAT HOLDS
THE ENTIRE ROOF TOGETHER.
WITH THE CURVED ROOF,
THE COLUMNS ARE UNNECESSARY.
THE ROOF SUPPORTS ITSELF
FREEING AN ENORMOUS AMOUNT
OF INTERIOR SPACE.
BY THE SECOND CENTURY A.D.
THE ROMANS HAD ENGINEERED
THE ULTIMATE DOME...
THE PANTHEON,
A TEMPLE TO ALL THE GODS.
FOR 1,500 YEARS IT STOOD
AS THE LARGEST OPEN
INTERIOR SPACE IN THE WORLD.
THIS REMARKABLE BUILDING
OWES ITS EXISTENCE
TO THE THOUSANDS OF BATHS
BUILT BEFORE IT.
WITH EACH ONE
THE ROMANS PERFECTED
THE ART AND SCIENCE OF THE DOME.
Yegul:
THE GREAT DOME OF THE PANTHEON
HAD ALREADY BEEN EXPERIMENTED
BY DOMES REACHING
HALF THAT SIZE...
WHICH IS STILL RESPECTABLE...
IN BATH BUILDINGS
THAT WERE BUILT
A GOOD 60, 70 YEARS
BEFORE THE PANTHEON.
THEY WERE REALLY THE FORERUNNERS
IN ROMAN BUILDING TECHNOLOGY
AND VERITABLE LABORATORIES
OF WORKING WITH VAULTING.
Keach:
OUR VAULTED ROOF
IS MADE OF BRICK.
THE WOOD FORMS MAINTAIN
THE DOMED SHAPE
AND HOLD THE BRICKS IN PLACE
UNTIL THE ROOF IS FINISHED.
A THIN PIECE OF WOOD
ENSURES THE CORRECT DISTANCE
AND ANGLE BETWEEN BRICKS.
IT WILL TAKE SEVERAL DAYS
TO COMPLETE THE ROOF.
MEANWHILE, TONY ROOK AND
HIS COLLEAGUE, BRYAN SCOTT,
HAVE ARRIVED.
HELLO, LOVELY
TO SEE YOU, LOVELY.
GOOD TO SEE YOU.
MY PLEASURE, FIKRET.
FIRST TIME
IN TURKEY, EH?
YES.
Keach:
AT THEIR FIRST MEETING
TONY WAS SKEPTICAL
OF FIKRET'S DESIGN...
ESPECIALLY THE HEATING SYSTEM.
NOW, I THINK WHAT WE'VE GOT...
WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO DO HERE...
IS CONSTRUCT SOMETHING THAT
THE ROMANS WOULD HAVE BUILT.
Keach:
TONY THOUGHT IT WOULD NEVER
HEAT UP PROPERLY
AND SOON ENOUGH HE WILL FIND OUT
IF HE WAS RIGHT.
Rook:
THE CALDARIUM ON THE NORTH SIDE.
Keach:
BEFORE HE STUDIED ARCHEOLOGY
TONY WAS
A BUILDING MATERIALS SPECIALIST.
OUR RUBBLE IS
A LOT MORE RUBBLELY
BECAUSE WE USE FLINT.
Yegul:
YEAH, I KNOW WHAT
YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
Keach:
AND ONE MATERIAL IN PARTICULAR
NOW GOING ON THE VAULTED ROOF
IS CONSIDERED BY MANY
TO BE ROME'S GREATEST
CONTRIBUTION TO ENGINEERING...
CHEAP, DURABLE,
VERSATILE CONCRETE.
CONCRETE ENABLED THE ROMANS
TO BECOME SPECTACULAR BUILDERS.
WITHOUT IT, THE COLISEUM
WOULD NOT EXIST
NOR WOULD THE PANTHEON.
Rook:
CONCRETE HAS GREAT ADVANTAGE
OF BEING CAST.
IN OTHER WORDS, YOU CAN MAKE IT
ANY SHAPE YOU LIKE.
IT HAS THE GREAT ADVANTAGE
OF BEING STRONG
SO YOU CAN MAKE SHAPES
WHICH BRIDGE LARGE SPACES
AND THEREFORE YOU CAN MAKE
THINGS LIKE GREAT, BIG
PUBLIC BATHS.
Keach:
THE RECIPE FOR CONCRETE
WAS WRITTEN DOWN
BY THE ROMAN
ARCHITECT, VITRUVIUS,
IN THE FIRST CENTURY B.C.
THE MAIN INGREDIENT COMES FROM
ONE OF THE MOST COMMON MATERIALS
IN THE WORLD, LIMESTONE.
BUT IF YOU TAKE
ORDINARY LIMESTONE...
WHICH IS A PRETTY HEAVY
SORT OF STUFF...
AND HEAT IT TO RED HOT
AND LEAVE IT LONG ENOUGH
AT RED HOT
WHEN IT'S FINISH, YOU GET
STUFF WHICH IS LIKE THIS.
WHICH IS A VERY,
VERY LIGHT MATERIAL
AND THAT'S CALLED QUICKLIME.
Keach:
QUICKLIME IS CHEMICALLY
VERY DIFFERENT FROM LIMESTONE;
ALL THE CARBON DIOXIDE
HAS BEEN BURNED OFF.
THEN, WHEN WATER IS ADDED
SOMETHING STRANGE
STARTS TO HAPPEN.
Rook:
YOU CAN HEAR IT'S STARTING
TO DO SOMETHING...
IT STARTS CRACKLING.
ALL THE HISSING
IS JUST STEAM COMING OUT OF IT.
EACH INDIVIDUAL BIT IS SWELLING
AND TURNING INTO A NEW MATERIAL
BECAUSE IT IS
VERY, VERY HOT NOW.
IN FACT, YOU WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO
PUT YOUR HAND CLOSE TO IT NOW.
IT'S SLOWLY TURNING ITSELF
INTO ONE OF THE FINEST POWDERS
YOU CAN MAKE
WHICH IS CALLED HYDRATED LIME,
OR JUST LIME.
Keach:
AS MORE WATER IS ADDED,
THE POWDER TURNS INTO A PUTTY
ADHESIVE ENOUGH TO BOND
THE COURSE MATERIALS
THAT MAKE UP CONCRETE
Rook:
LOOK, IT'S ACTUALLY BOILING
IN FRONT OF ME NOW
AND BLOWING UP
NICE BUBBLES OF STEAM.
Keach:
ADDED TO THE LIME,
SAND AND AN AGGREGATE OF ROCK.
TO MAKE THE CONCRETE WATERPROOF
THE ROMANS ALSO MIXED
IN CRUSHED TILE.
THEY PREFERRED VOLCANIC ASH
BUT IT WASN'T AVAILABLE
IN MOST PLACES.
YOU FINISH UP WITH
A BEAUTIFUL PINK CONCRETE
ABSOLUTELY
CHARACTERISTICALLY ROMAN.
YOU FIND IT IN HYPOCAUSTS...
YOU FIND IT IN BATHS...
PLACES WHERE
IT'S GOING TO BE UNDERWATER
WHERE YOU WANT
A WATERPROOF MATERIAL.
Keach:
ALMOST FOUR WEEKS... MORE THAN
HALF THE TIME HAS PASSED...
AND TEOMAN
IS ANXIOUS TO MOVE ON.
WITH THE EXTERIOR WORK
MOSTLY DONE
IT IS TIME TO TACKLE
THE HARDEST PART...
THE HEATING SYSTEM INSIDE.
THE ROOF FORMS
OVER THE FRIGIDARIUM
WILL STAY UP
A LITTLE WHILE LONGER.
BUT THE HEATING SYSTEM GOES
IN THE TEPIDARIUM AND CALDARIUM
SO THERE
THE SCAFFOLDING MUST COME DOWN.
TEARING DOWN THE VAULT PLANKING
IS A NERVE-WRACKING PROCESS.
IF THE ROOF WASN'T BUILT RIGHT,
IT MIGHT NOT HOLD TOGETHER.
EVERYONE IS RELIEVED
WHEN THE ROOF STAYS UP.
THE HEART OF THE HEATING SYSTEM
IS THE FIREPLACE
OR FURNACE AS THEY CALL IT.
FIKRET IS PUTTING ON
THE FINAL TOUCHES.
OH, MAX!
Max:
HELLO.
WELCOME, GOOD TO SEE
YOU HERE, HI!
Keach:
MAX FORDHAM AND HIS COLLEAGUE,
TRISTAN COUCH
ARE HEATING ENGINEERS.
MAX HAS DESIGNED
SOME OF THE MOST COMPLEX CLIMATE
CONTROL SYSTEMS IN THE WORLD
INCLUDING BRITAIN'S TATE GALLERY
AND THE SAVOY THEATRE.
IT'S LONG...
YEAH, AND IT'S OUR,
UH, HEATING CANAL.
Keach:
THESE RUINS FROM BATH, ENGLAND
SHOW THAT THE HEATING SYSTEM
WAS A TOUR DE FORCE
OF ROMAN ENGINEERING.
THEY EVEN HAD
A NAME FOR IT, HYPOCAUST
WHICH MEANS "FIRE UNDERNEATH".
A ROMAN WRITER CREDITED
THE INVENTION OF THE HYPOCAUST
TO AN ENTREPRENEUR NAMED SERGIUS
ORATA AND HIS LOVE FOR OYSTERS.
ORATA WANTED TO CULTIVATE
AND SELL OYSTERS
BUT HE NEEDED A CONSTANT SUPPLY
OF WARM WATER TO BREED THEM.
SO HE MOUNTED OYSTER PANS
ON PILLARS
AND LIT A FIRE UNDERNEATH.
THE HOT AIR CIRCULATED
BENEATH THE OYSTER BEDS
HEATING THE WATER INSIDE.
THE BEST TEMPERATURE
FOR BREEDING
WAS ACHIEVED BY ADJUSTING
THE SIZE OF THE FIRE.
IT'S A GOOD STORY, BUT MOST
HISTORIANS DON'T BUY IT.
WE HAVE A NUMBER OF EXAMPLES...
ARCHEOLOGICALLY
BACKED EXAMPLES...
THAT SHOW US THAT
THE HYPOCAUST SYSTEMS
OR QUASI-HYPOCAUST SYSTEMS...
THINGS THAT LOOKED LIKE
HYPOCAUSTS... WERE BEING USED
EVEN DURING A GENERATION OR TWO
BEFORE ORATA'S TIME.
Keach:
THERE'S NOTHING IN THE RECORD
ABOUT HOW WELL
ORATA'S OYSTER BUSINESS DID
BUT THERE'S
A GREAT DEAL OF EVIDENCE
THAT HYPOCAUSTS EVENTUALLY
HEATED EVERY ROMAN BATH BUILT.
THE HYPOCAUST STARTS
IN THE FURNACE
WHICH CONNECTS TO THE CALDARIUM,
THE HOTTEST ROOM.
THERE IS AN OPENING ON THE RIGHT
TO THE TEPIDARIUM...
THE WARM ROOM.
PILLARS, CALLED PILAE
WILL RAISE THE FLOOR
ABOUT THREE FEET.
ON TOP OF THE PILAE
LARGE FLOOR TILES, CALLED
BIPEDALIS, WILL BE INSTALLED.
A LAYER OF CONCRETE GOES ON TOP
AND THEN ANOTHER LAYER
OF MARBLE.
FOR THE SYSTEM TO WORK
THE HOT GASES ARE DRAWN FROM
THE FURNACE THROUGH THE ROOMS
WHERE THEY RISE AND SPREAD OUT
HEATING THE FLOOR AS THEY GO.
THERE ARE FOUR FLUES,
OR CHIMNEYS
TO DRAW THE HOT GASES
TOWARD THEM
PROMOTING THE CIRCULATION
OF THE HEAT
AND PROVIDING A WAY OUT
FOR THE SMOKE.
PART OF MAX'S ROLE
IS TO ASSESS WHETHER
THE GASES WILL FLOW PROPERLY.
IF THE SYSTEM
ISN'T PULLING A DRAFT
IT WILL NEVER HEAT UP THE BATH.
DON'T BREATHE IT.
YOU SEE, THE WIND'S
DRIFTING ABOUT
AND THEN WE'LL SEE...
WHERE IT'S...
IT'S GOING QUITE
NICELY IN, LOOK.
THERE WE GO.
Keach:
THIS IS A GOOD SIGN
THAT THE SYSTEM
MIGHT BE WORKING PROPERLY...
TAKING AIR FROM THE OUTSIDE
AND DRAWING IT IN.
BUT WILL THE CHIMNEYS
DRAW AIR AS WELL?
MAX STEPS INSIDE
THE CALDARIUM TO CHECK.
THE FLAME'S DRAWING.
YOU SEE THEY'RE NOT
GOING IN YET.
Keach:
HIS METHOD
IS DECIDEDLY LOW TECH
BUT IT MAY WELL HAVE BEEN
HOW THE ROMANS TESTED IT, TOO.
Rook:
OH, DEAR,
YES, YOU'RE RIGHT.
LIKE ANYTHING.
GOOD GRIEF.
AND THEN, YOU SEE
EVEN BEING
DRAWN DOWN THERE.
Keach:
NEXT, MAX GOES TO THE FURNACE
TO SEE IF THE HEAT OF THE FIRE
WILL BE DRAWN INTO THE ROOM
AS IT SHOULD.
OH, LOOK AT THAT!
Rook:
LOOK AT THAT.
Yegul:
IT'S COMING...
IT'S BEAUTIFUL.
IT'S PLAYING
LIKE ANYTHING IN.
RIGHT, AND THAT'S
WHAT WE NEED.
Keach:
THIS MIGHT LOOK LIKE A GOOD
SIGN, BUT THE ROOM IS WIDE OPEN.
IF THE RAISED FLOOR ISN'T
DESIGNED AND INSTALLED PROPERLY
THE GAS FLOW COULD BE BLOCKED
AND THE ROOM WON'T HEAT.
Fordham:
ABOUT AS FAST AS THAT
Keach:
THE MEN START BUILDING
THE PILAE.
Fordham:
TRISTAN, HERE I COME!
Keach:
AFTER THE MORTAR SETS,
MAX TRIES TO CRAWL THROUGH.
THE ROMANS WOULD HAVE BUILT
THE HEATING SYSTEM
LARGE ENOUGH FOR A SLAVE TO FIT
UNDER FOR CLEANING OR REPAIR.
IT'S JUST AS WELL
I HAVEN'T GOT MY SMART SHOES ON.
WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO
IS IMAGINE THAT, UM...
I'M SEVEN YEARS OLD
AND RATHER SMALL.
Keach:
THE PILAE IN THIS BATH
ARE SEVERAL CENTIMETERS
CLOSER TOGETHER
THAN THE ROMANS
USUALLY BUILT THEM.
MAX WORRIES IT WILL IMPEDE
THE FLOW OF HOT GASES.
Couch:
DO YOU THINK YOU CAN DO
A LEFT HAND TURN THERE.
I'M JUST WONDERING.
Keach:
BUT THE SPACING OF THE PILAE
WAS LIMITED BY THE SIZE OF
THE TILES THAT WILL GO ON TOP.
I SUPPOSE YOU
HAVE TO REMEMBER
THAT YOU'VE GOT
TO GET OUT AGAIN.
YEAH.
Keach:
MAKING THOSE TILES
WAS A FRUSTRATING AND
EXPENSIVE LESSON FOR TEOMAN.
AND NOW HE HAS TO FACE
THE CRITICISM OF TONY ROOK.
THESE DON'T
LOOK VERY MUCH
LIKE THE TILES WE
WERE TALKING ABOUT,
DO THEY?
WHAT HAPPENED?
YEAH, WE HAD PROBLEMS
WITH THE MANUFACTURE
OF TILES
BECAUSE WE DIDN'T
HAVE ENOUGH TIME
TO DRY THEM OUT.
Keach:
THE CLAY TILES KEPT CRACKING.
SOME EVEN EXPLODED
INSIDE THE KILN.
THE ROMANS WOULD HAVE LET THEM
DRY FOR MONTHS, EVEN YEARS.
BUT TEOMAN ONLY HAD A FEW WEEKS.
THE FINAL SOLUTION
WAS DECIDEDLY UNROMAN.
Yalcinkaya:
AT THE END,
WE COME TO A SOLUTION
OF HAVING A FRAME
MADE OF STEEL
TO SUPPORT THE TILES,
WHICH ARE CRACKED.
INSTEAD OF PUTTING
A ONE-PIECE TILE LIKE THIS...
OH, DEAR.
WE ARE GOING TO PUT
THE TILES IN THE FRAMES.
SO IT'S GOING
TO SUPPORT IT.
WE DON'T HAVE TIME...
WE HAVE A SCHEDULE.
THEY HAVE TO CATCH UP
WITH THE SCHEDULE.
SO, THEREFORE,
WE FOUND THIS SOLUTION.
I LIKE THIS, ANYWAY.
THEREFORE, WE...
WE'RE LEARNING
A LOT HERE, YOU KNOW.
WE'RE LEARNING
THE ROMANS
KNEW HOW TO DO IT,
AND WE DON'T.
Keach:
THE FLOOR TILES,
EACH IN A STEEL FRAME
ARE CAREFULLY PLACED A FEW
INCHES AWAY FROM THE WALL.
THE REASON
WILL SOON BE APPARENT.
FOR CENTURIES, THE ROMANS
ONLY USED UNDER-FLOOR HEATING.
THEN, AROUND
THE FIRST CENTURY A.D.
ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE
REVEALED SOMETHING NEW.
THIS IS EPHESUS, TURKEY
A NEARBY ROMAN CITY
WITH SEVERAL BATHS...
AND EACH ONE REVEALS
A SURPRISING NEW ADDITION...
HOLLOW CLAY BOXES, CALLED TUBULI
LINING THE WALLS
OF THE HEATED ROOMS.
THE ROMANS HAD INTRODUCED
RADIANT WALL HEATING
WHICH MADE THE SYSTEM
MUCH MORE COMPLEX.
THE TUBULI ARE PLACED
OVER THE HOLE
BETWEEN THE LEDGE
AND THE FLOOR TILE.
WHEN STACKED ON TOP
OF EACH OTHER
A VERTICAL CHANNEL IS FORMED
FOR HOT GASES TO RISE.
THE ROUND HOLES, PLACED SIDE BY
SIDE, CREATE A HORIZONTAL PATH
SO THE GASES CAN ALSO CIRCULATE
ACROSS THE WALL.
BUT WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY GET
TO THE TOP IS A MYSTERY.
THIS ANCIENT BATH AT EPHESUS
HAS NO ROOF.
THE GRAND IMPERIAL BATHS OF
CARACALLA IN ROME HAVE NO ROOF
AND NEITHER DOES
THE BATH AT SARDIS.
THERE ARE SO FEW
ARCHEOLOGICAL REMAINS
THAT OUR TEAM DIFFERED WIDELY
ABOUT HOW THE HOT GASES
MIGHT FLOW THROUGH THE TUBULI
AND VENT OUT.
Yegul:
WE KNOW HOW CONCRETE WORKS.
WE KNOW HOW CROSS VAULTS
AND BARREL VAULTS WORK.
THERE'S NO PROBLEM THERE.
THE PROBLEM IS THOSE SORT
OF SMALL DETAILS OF HEATING
AND HOW THE TUBULI WORK
HOW THE TUBULI ACTUALLY PULL THE
HOT AIR, HOW THE CHIMNEYS WORK.
AND TO THIS DAY, WE DO NOT KNOW
JUST HOW HOT WAS A ROMAN BATH?
WE HAVE NO IDEA.
Keach:
THE SYSTEM THEY SETTLED ON
WORKS LIKE THIS.
ALONG THE OPEN EDGES
OF THE FLOOR
THE HOT GASES RISE
UP THE VERTICAL CHANNELS
AND FLOW HORIZONTALLY
THROUGH THE HOLES.
WHEN THEY GET TO THE TOP,
THEY MEET UP
WITH A HORIZONTAL CHANNEL
CONNECTED TO THE CHIMNEY FLUE.
THE DRAFT FROM THE CHIMNEY
DRAWS THE HOT GASES
AND KEEPS THE CIRCULATION GOING
SO THAT A CONTINUOUS STREAM
OF HEATED AIR CYCLES THROUGH.
IBRAHIM AKYAR IS BUILDING
THE HORIZONTAL CHANNEL.
FIRST, HE CUTS THE HOLE
IN THE CHIMNEY.
THEN HE CAREFULLY
MATCHES THE OPENINGS.
THE TUBULI ARE BONDED
TO THE WALL BY MORTAR.
IT'S SIMILAR TO CONCRETE, BUT
WITHOUT THE COARSE INGREDIENTS.
TONS OF MORTAR HAVE BEEN USED
IN THIS SMALL BATH
AND GIVING IT ALL TIME TO DRY
WILL BECOME A SERIOUS PROBLEM.
THE ROMANS WOULD HAVE
ALLOWED WEEKS, EVEN MONTHS
FOR THE BUILDING TO DRY
BUT TEOMAN HAS ONLY TEN DAYS
TO COMPLETE CONSTRUCTION
AND THREE DAYS
TO HEAT UP THE BUILDING.
SUCH A TIGHT SCHEDULE COULD
BE A RECIPE FOR DISASTER
Rook:
IF YOU'VE GOT A LOT
OF MOISTURE IN A STRUCTURE
AND YOU DRY IT FAST, IT SHRINKS.
NOW, IF IT DRIES SLOWLY, THE
SHRINKAGE IS SORT OF SPREAD OUT
OVER THE WHOLE THING,
AND IT SORT OF RELAXES.
BUT IF YOU DRY IT FAST
THEN THE SHRINKAGE IS LIABLE
TO BE CONCENTRATED IN PLACES
SO IT WILL CRACK FOR THAT
REASON, AND THE OTHER THING IS
IF YOU HEAT IT, IT EXPANDS.
SO YOU'VE GOT THESE
TWO EFFECTS GOING ON.
YOU COULD HAVE...
SOMEWHERE IN THE STRUCTURE
YOU CAN HAVE ONE BIT
OF IT GETTING VERY HOT
AND ONE BIT OF IT DRYING, AND
IT'S GOING TO PULL ITSELF APART.
Keach:
TEOMAN IS WELL AWARE
OF THE PROBLEM
BUT THERE'S STILL SO MUCH TO DO.
THE HYPOCAUST FLOORS NEED
A LAYER OF CONCRETE.
FOUR TO FIVE INCHES THICK, IT
WILL TAKE SEVERAL DAYS TO DRY.
ONLY TEOMAN WILL WAIT IT OUT.
EVERYONE ELSE HAS JOBS AND
THINGS TO DO BACK HOME.
THEY'LL RETURN IN TEN DAYS
TO LIGHT THE FURNACE.
AS PLASTERING BEGINS
ON THE CEILING
THEIR PROBLEMS
ARE ABOUT TO MULTIPLY.
RAIN NOT ONLY SLOWS DOWN
TEOMAN'S SCHEDULE;
IT ALSO SOAKS
AN ALREADY WET BUILDING.
EVEN THE STRAY PUPPY THAT
ADOPTED THE BATH AS HER NEW HOME
GETS DRENCHED.
OF ALL THE ENGINEERING
ACHIEVEMENTS
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE,
ONE STANDS ABOVE ALL OTHERS.
WITHOUT IT, THERE WOULD HAVE
BEEN NO BATHS.
WITHOUT IT, THERE WOULD
HAVE BEEN NO ROME.
THE ROMAN AQUEDUCT,
THE SINGLE GREATEST SYSTEM
FOR THE TRANSPORT OF WATER KNOWN
TO THE WORLD UNTIL THIS CENTURY.
EVEN TODAY, THE WATER
OF ROME'S TREVI FOUNTAIN COMES
FROM AN ANCIENT AQUEDUCT.
Man:
ROMANS WOULD NOT TAKE "NO"
FOR AN ANSWER.
JUST LIKE THEY'D
CONQUERED OTHER PEOPLE
THEY WOULD CONQUER NATURE
WITH THEIR ENGINEERING.
IN THE END, FOR THEIR CITY
OF A MILLION PEOPLE
THEY HAD 11 AQUEDUCTS,
11 CHANNELS OF OVER 300 MILES
DELIVERING PERHAPS 150 TO 200
GALLONS PER PERSON PER DAY
AN AMAZING AMOUNT
FOR THE ANCIENT WORLD.
Keach:
THE SOURCE OF ROME'S WATER
LAY 50 MILES OUTSIDE THE CITY
IN THE FOOTHILLS
OF THE APENNINES
WHERE THE ANIO RIVER FLOWS.
BUT THE BEST DRINKING WATER
IN ALL OF ROME CAME
FROM NEARBY MOUNTAIN SPRINGS.
THIS IS WHERE THE AQUA CLAUDIA
AQUEDUCT WAS BUILT
STARTING IN 38 A.D.
BUT THERE'S NOTHING TO SEE,
BECAUSE IT'S ALL UNDERGROUND.
THE AQUA CLAUDIA BEGAN
WITH A LARGE, DEEP BASIN
THAT COLLECTED
COLD SPRING WATER.
AN UNDERGROUND AQUEDUCT
DIRECTED IT TOWARD ROME
FOLLOWING THE CONTOURS
OF THE LAND
SOMETIMES BORING DEEP
UNDER THE MOUNTAINS.
THERE WERE NO PUMPS
TO MOVE THE WATER ALONG.
THE SYSTEM WORKED
SOLELY ON GRAVITY...
A SMALL, GENTLE SLOPE
FOR ABOUT 50 MILES.
MUCH OF THE AQUA CLAUDIA
IS STILL THERE
BURIED BENEATH THE SURFACE.
PETER AICHER IS ABOUT
TO SHOW GARRETT FAGAN
SOMETHING FEW PEOPLE
HAVE EVER SEEN.
BOY, YOU CAN FEEL THAT
COOL AIR COMING OUT.
Keach:
THE FRONT FACE OF THIS MOUNTAIN
CLIFF HAS BROKEN OFF
REVEALING THE AQUA CLAUDIA
TUNNEL HIDDEN INSIDE.
THERE'S A GOOD
CHANNEL TO FOLLOW.
SURE... LET'S GO.
WATCH THE COBWEBS,
THE BATS.
YOU CAN...
RIGHT HERE
I THINK YOU CAN
SENSE THE INCLINE.
OH, YEAH.
Keach:
THEY'RE WALKING IN THE OPPOSITE
DIRECTION THE WATER FLOWED.
AS THEY MOVE DEEPER
INTO THE CHANNEL
THEY FIND, ALONG THE WALL
REMNANTS OF ROMAN
WATERPROOF CONCRETE.
AND YOU CAN ALSO SEE...
Keach:
THEY ALSO FIND A BUILDUP OF
HARD-WATER MINERAL DEPOSITS.
Aicher:
ONLY CEMENTED UP HERE
MAYBE FOUR FEET HIGH
AND THIS IS ABOUT
SIX FEET HIGH.
THIS CHANNEL WAS NOT
MEANT TO RUN FULL...
YEAH.
BE EXPOSED TO THE AIR
WHICH WAS BETTER
FOR THE WATER.
Aicher:
THIS EVENTUALLY WOULD ENCRUST
THE WHOLE CHANNEL.
SOME WERE WORSE THAN THIS.
AND THAT WOULD BE ONE OF
THE REGULAR MAINTENANCE TASKS
IS TO COME THROUGH
AND CHOP THIS AWAY
AND THEN PERHAPS TO RECOAT
IT AGAIN WITH THE CEMENT.
Keach:
THERE WAS A SURPRISING BENEFIT
TO THESE MINERAL DEPOSITS.
Aicher:
BECAUSE THIS IS HARD WATER
IS THAT THEY USED
A LOT OF LEAD PIPES.
Keach:
THEY WOULD COAT THE LEAD PIPES
USED THROUGHOUT THE CITY
PREVENTING LEAD POISONS FROM
LEACHING INTO THE WATER SUPPLY.
I SEE.
SO THEY HAD A USEFUL
FUNCTION, AS WELL.
Keach:
THE AQUA CLAUDIA
TUNNELS UNDERGROUND
FOR MORE THAN 40 MILES
BUT EVENTUALLY,
MOUNTAINS COME TO AN END.
THAT'S WHEN AQUEDUCTS EMERGE
IN A SPECTACULAR DISPLAY
OF ROMAN ENGINEERING...
GRACEFUL ARCADES
OF ARCHES 60 FEET HIGH
CARRYING WATER IN CHANNELS
ALONG THE TOP.
THIS BRIDGE CARRIED
TWO AQUEDUCTS
THE AQUA CLAUDIA ON THE BOTTOM,
AND THE MOSTLY MISSING CHANNEL
OF THE ANIO NOVIS AQUEDUCT
ON TOP.
AT PORTA MAGGIORE, ONE OF
THE HIGHEST SPOTS IN THE CITY
THE AQUA CLAUDIA, ALONG
WITH SEVEN OTHER AQUEDUCTS
FINALLY REACHES ROME.
AT THIS POINT,
THE SYSTEM SWITCHED
TO CLOSED, PRESSURIZED PIPES
WHICH DELIVERED THE WATER
ALL OVER TOWN.
Aicher:
IT CAN GO TO ALL QUARTERS OF THE
CITY, AND BACK UP INTO FOUNTAINS
FOR THE HOMES,
THE BATHS, THE INDUSTRIES
AND CLEANING THE DRAINS,
AND IN GENERAL PROVIDING WATER
FOR THIS WHOLE CITY OF A MILLION
THAT ONCE THE SYSTEM
FELL INTO RUIN
WAS NOT EQUALED AGAIN
INTO THE 1800S.
WOW!
Keach:
AQUEDUCTS WERE BUILT
THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE.
ALMOST 2,000 YEARS AGO
AN AQUEDUCT SLOPED
DOWN THE TMOLOS MOUNTAINS
TO SUPPLY THE BATH AT SARDIS.
IT USED THOUSANDS OF GALLONS
OF WATER EVERY DAY
BUT IT NEVER WENT TO WASTE.
AFTER THE WATER WAS DRAINED
FROM THE BATHS
IT WAS CHANNELED THROUGH
THIS MULTI-SEAT LATRINE
AS A FLUSHING SYSTEM.
WITH SEATS LINING ALL THE WALLS
THIS LATRINE ACCOMMODATED
TWO DOZEN PEOPLE.
IT OFFERS A REVEALING LOOK
AT ROMAN CULTURE
WHERE PERSONAL HABITS
WERE SURPRISINGLY PUBLIC.
IF YOU LOOK AT ME
I'M SITTING REALLY
VERY CLOSE TO MY NEIGHBORS.
IF THIS IS A BUSY TIME,
THEN I'M SORT OF SITTING HERE.
AND WOULD I HAVE WOMEN
BESIDE ME, PERHAPS?
AND I THINK THE ANSWER IS YES.
AND SOME CONSIDERATION
OF ROMAN CLOTHING, PERHAPS
HELPS TO PRESERVE THE MODESTY
OF THE INDIVIDUAL TOILET USERS
BECAUSE THEY WOULD JUST
SIMPLY SORT OF PULL UP
THEIR TOGAS AND TUNICS,
THEN THEY COULD SIT HERE
AND EVERYTHING
WASN'T HANGING OUT.
BUT THAT DOESN'T ACCOUNT
FOR NOISES, ODORS
WHICH YOU WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY HEAR
WHICH WOULD BE REMARKABLE, TO
THE MODERN WESTERN TOILET USER
TO THINK OF THAT POSSIBILITY.
Keach:
WITH THE RAIN, THE MARBLING
INSIDE THE BATHHOUSE
IS GOING VERY SLOWLY.
AS THEY PUT MORTAR ON ONE SIDE
OF THE FRIGIDARIUM WALL
THE MARBLE
ON THE OTHER SIDE BUCKLES.
THE MORTAR IS SO WET,
IT SETTLED TO THE BOTTOM
AND PUSHED THE MARBLE OUT.
SECTIONS OF THIS WALL
WILL HAVE TO BE REDONE.
FOR TEOMAN, THIS
IS THE LAST STRAW.
EVEN THOUGH THE SKY
IS BEGINNING TO CLEAR
HE'S WORRIED THE BUILDING
WON'T DRY OR HEAT UP PROPERLY.
HE NEEDS SOME ADVICE.
BUT WITHOUT MAX OR TONY AT HAND
TEOMAN DRIVES DOWN
TO THE VILLAGE FOR HELP.
THERE'S NO HEATING ENGINEER
HERE, BUT THERE IS A BAKER...
WHO FIRES HIS OVEN EVERY DAY...
HE AGREES TO COME UP
TO THE SITE.
IN THE MEANTIME, THE WOOD FUEL
THAT TEOMAN ORDERED HAS ARRIVED
AT LEAST A WEEK'S WORTH OF IT.
Yalcinkaya:
I WAS A LITTLE WORRIED
ABOUT THE FIRING OF THE FURNACE.
AND SAID THAT WE WANT TO FIRE IT
IN THREE DAYS, BUT HE OBJECTED.
HE SAID WE WILL HAVE CRACKS
YOU KNOW, IF WE FIRE IT
IN THREE DAYS.
BUT IF WE LET IT LAID OVER EIGHT
DAYS INSTEAD OF THREE DAYS
THEN THERE WILL BE A SLOWER...
I MEAN, LESS HEAT, SLOW HEAT,
BUT A PERMANENT HEAT.
Keach:
THE WHOLE TEAM WAS LOOKING
FORWARD TO LIGHTING THE FIRE.
BUT TEOMAN HAS MADE A RISKY
DECISION: TO LIGHT IT EARLY
IN THE HOPES
OF DRYING THE BUILDING.
IT'S A TENSE TIME.
WILL THE FURNACE DRAW PROPERLY?
WILL THE CHIMNEYS VENT?
WILL THE ROOMS HEAT UP?
AND MOST IMPORTANT,
WILL THE BUILDING CRACK?
AFTER A HALF HOUR,
THINGS AREN'T LOOKING SO GOOD.
MOST OF THE HEAT IS HEADING
THE WRONG DIRECTION...
OUT OF THE FURNACE.
THE BAKER WILL PUSH THE FIRE
DEEP UNDER THE CALDARIUM
CLOSER TO THE CHIMNEYS.
AND A COUPLE OF HOURS LATER,
IT'S A SIGHT TO BEHOLD.
NOT ONLY IS SMOKE POURING OUT
OF THE CHIMNEY, BUT INSIDE
IT'S EVEN SEEPING OUT OF THE
UNFINISHED PARTS OF THE DOORWAY
BETWEEN THE SEAMS OF THE TUBULI.
YOU SEE, THE SMOKE IS COMING
BETWEEN THE SEAMS OF THE TUBULI.
I MEAN, THAT MEANS... THAT SHOWS
THAT IT'S FUNCTIONING.
YOU SEE, IT'S WARM.
IT'S WARM AND IT'S GOING
TO GIVE ITS...
EVEN THE PLASTER
IS WARMING UP SLOWLY.
IT'S GOING TO BE ALL RIGHT.
IT WILL BE HOT.
Keach:
FOUR MORE NIGHTS AND THE OTHERS
WILL ARRIVE TO SEE IT.
CONGRATULATIONS, TEOMAN,
IT'S SMOKING!
IT IS SMOKING, YOU SEE?
IT'S SMOKING.
SO YOU CAN SEE
FROM OVER HERE.
REAL SMOKE,
NOT A CARD TRICK?
NO, IT'S REAL SMOKE.
IT'S REAL SMOKE.
Fordham:
WE'VE GOT
A SMOKE BOMB.
Yegul:
WHICH ONES ARE PULLING?
ALL OF THEM.
ALL OF THEM?
YES, ALL OF THEM.
Fordham:
GUARANTEED?
GUARANTEED, YES.
WELL, I CAN GIVE
A WARRANTY PAPER FOR THAT.
ACTUALLY, IT'S NOT SURPRISING
AT ALL, IS IT?
IT'S JUST GOOD DESIGN.
Keach:
FIKRET COULDN'T RESIST
A LITTLE JAB
AT THOSE WHO HAD DOUBTED
HIS DESIGN.
Yalcinkaya:
BETTER WE CAN GO AROUND HERE.
Keach:
INSIDE, THEY START FEELING
THE WALLS
TO SEE IF THE TUBULI
ARE HEATING UP EVENLY.
THE FLUE SOMEWHERE
AROUND HERE, YOU SEE.
Couch:
YOU CAN REALLY
FEEL IT HERE
YES.
Keach:
BUT MAX HAS BROUGHT
SOME EQUIPMENT
THAT CAN SEE RIGHT
THROUGH THE WALLS...
AN INFRARED CAMERA
THAT SHOWS HEAT RANGES BY COLOR.
WHITE IS OFF THE CHARTS, RED
IS ABOUT 250 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT
THEN THE TEMPERATURE DESCENDS
FROM YELLOW, TO GREEN, TO BLUE
AND SO ON.
THE BLACK AREAS ARE
WHERE THE TUBULI STOP.
Fordham:
HOTTER THAN THE FLUES.
Keach:
IT'S TELLING EVERYONE WHERE
THE GASES ARE FLOWING INSIDE.
Fordham:
WELL, I THINK
IT'S ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL
THIS CHIMNEY, LOOK,
GOING UP THERE.
Yegul:
THE CHIMNEY REALLY LOOKS
EXTREMELY CLEAR, DOESN'T IT?
DOESN'T IT?
IT'S LIKE A SHARP PEAK.
THAT IS CONSISTENTLY
THE HOTTEST CHIMNEY
WITH THE MOST
GAS FLOW IN IT.
Keach:
WITH THE CONSTRUCTION
ALMOST DONE
AND THE BUILDING HEATING UP
IT'S TIME FOR THE FINAL ACT...
HEATING UP THE BATH WATER.
NO ONE KNOWS WHAT THE
TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER
ACTUALLY WAS
BUT THERE ARE HINTS...
ANCIENT STORIES OF WATER SO HOT
THAT HEAVY DRINKERS WOULD HAVE
TO BE CARRIED OUT UNCONSCIOUS.
THE SYSTEM THEY USED
TO HEAT THE WATER
WAS SURPRISINGLY SIMILAR TO
OURS TODAY... A HOT WATER BOILER.
MODELED AFTER A BOILER
FOUND IN THE RUINS
OF A ROMAN BATH IN ALGERIA
THIS ONE WILL BE INSTALLED
IN THE MORNING.
A SIMPLE TASK THAT WILL STIR UP
SOME SIMMERING TENSIONS.
WE THINK THE HOT WATER
SHOULD COME OUT
OF THAT ONE.
IS THAT
THE HOT WATER?
Keach:
AS THE DAY BEGINS, TONY
AND BRYAN SUGGEST A CHANGE
IN THE PLUMBING CONNECTIONS
TO THE BOILER.
THE HOT WATER
WITH THE COLD
TO THAT ONE
ALL THAT HOT WATER
STAYS IN IT...
YOU CAN'T
GET THAT OUT.
IF YOU TAKE IT
OUT OF THAT ONE
YOU'LL GET
THE EXTRA BIT.
YES, BUT, UH, THAT
WILL BE SUFFICIENT
FOR OUR PURPOSE.
WE DON'T THINK
IT WILL.
WELL, IF...
WHY DON'T YOU THINK
IT WILL NOT BE?
WELL, BECAUSE
WE'VE CALCULATED...
Keach:
THE TANK IS DESIGNED TO HAVE
THE HOT WATER COME OUT
OF ONE OF THESE
SIDE CONNECTIONS.
BUT TONY AND BRYAN BELIEVE
THAT IF IT CAME OUT THE TOP
THE BOILER WOULD BE
MORE EFFICIENT.
THEY MIGHT BE RIGHT
BUT IT IS, PERHAPS,
ONE CRITICISM TOO MANY...
THE ATMOSPHERE BECOMES CHARGED.
WHY SHOULD WE TAKE
THE RISK, YOU KNOW?
DON'T YOU SEE
THE ADVANTAGE
THAT IF WE'RE RIGHT
THEN IT WILL WORK
AND WE'RE NOT
LOSING ANYTHING.
THIS PART MIGHT HAVE BEEN
QUITE SUFFICIENT, TOO.
I DON'T
THINK IT WILL.
HOW CAN YOU
BE SO SURE?
THE TROUBLE IS,
WE ALSO CALCULATE
THAT IT'S GOING TO TAKE
A WHOLE DAY TO HEAT THIS UP.
NO, WE'RE JUST...
WELL, WE'VE GONE
THROUGH THIS THING BEFORE
IF YOU KNOW ABOUT
THE HEATING SYSTEM.
YOU SAID YOU HAD
THE SAME RESERVATIONS
AND THE DIRE PREDICTIONS,
AND IT'S WORKING LIKE A CHARM.
IT ISN'T WORKING YET
BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T
YET GOT IT WORKING.
WE HAVEN'T PUT
THE BOILER ON IT YET.
WE HAVEN'T GOT IT
TO 50 CENTIGRADE YET.
WHO SAYS WE HAVE
TO GET TO 50
CENTIGRADE?
DO YOU KNOW ROMAN BATHS
HEATED TO 50 CENTIGRADE?
WHERE DO YOU
TAKE THAT NUMBER,
OUT OF YOUR HAT?
NO, I TAKE THAT NUMBER
OUT OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY
OF HEATING AND REFRIGERATION
AND AIR CONDITIONING ENGINEERS.
AND HOW DOES
THAT RELATE?
OH, WELL, BECAUSE THAT
IS QUITE WELL RESEARCHED.
Keach:
MAX, THE ENGINEER, WANTS
TO TEST THE HEATING SYSTEM
TO ITS ENGINEERING LIMIT.
FIKRET, THE HISTORIAN,
WANTS ONLY TO HEAT IT
TO THE LIMIT OF A TURKISH BATH.
IT BECOMES A CLASH OF
PROFESSIONAL DISCIPLINES.
Fordham:
BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER
WHAT THE TEMPERATURE IS.
Yegul:
TURKISH BATHS ARE ALL AROUND,
AND FUNCTIONING, TODAY...
YOU'VE BEEN IN ONE!
AT A SLIGHTLY LOWER
TEMPERATURE, I KNOW.
I HAVE DONE RESEARCH
ABOUT TURKISH BATHS...
IT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED.
OKAY! BUT WHAT WE'RE
TRYING TO DO HERE...
50 IS OUT
OF THE QUESTION, PERIOD.
Rook:
I THINK IT'S HIGH.
BUT THERE WERE NOT
PREDICTIONS MADE.
Yegul:
50 IS OUT
OF THE QUESTION.
YOU ARE TALKING
OUT OF YOUR HAT.
YOU HAVE NO GROUND
TO STAND ON
AND THIS BATH
HEATING SYSTEM...
I DO HAVE GROUND
TO STAND ON BECAUSE...
Keach:
THE ARGUMENT GOES ON
UNTIL THEY REACH A COMPROMISE...
THE BATH WILL ONLY BE HEATED
TO 40 DEGREES CENTIGRADE
BUT THE CHANGES WILL BE MADE
TO THE BOILER.
AND THEN WE GET
THE THING GOING...
Keach:
THE HOT WATER CONNECTIONS
ARE QUICKLY RECONFIGURED.
THE BOILER IS MOVED
INTO PLACE AND ATTACHED.
MAX RETURNS TO HIS TESTING
AND MEASURING.
THIS TIME HE'S CHECKING
THE DEPTH OF THE RESERVOIR
WHERE WATER FOR THE BATH
IS STORED.
OF COURSE, THERE'S NO AQUEDUCT
TO FILL IT
SO THEY'LL PUMP WATER IN
FROM A TANK.
TO PUT EVERYONE IN
THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND
TONY ROOK AND BRYAN
DON THEIR TUNICS
AND TAKE OVER THE OPERATION
OF THE FURNACE.
Rook:
WHAT WE'VE GOT TO DO IS
GET THE FIRE UNDER THE BOILER.
Keach:
WITH THE BUILDING HEATED
THEY CAN PULL THE FIRE BACK
FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE CALDARIUM
TO WHERE IT BELONGS...
UNDER THE BOILER.
BECAUSE WHAT
WE WANT NOW
IS TO GET THE FIRE
UNDER THE BOILER
SO THAT THE BOILER WILL,
QUITE LITERALLY, BOIL.
WE'VE GOT TO HAVE
ENOUGH BOILING WATER
IN THERE...
Keach:
IT WILL TAKE ALL DAY
FOR THE WATER TO HEAT UP.
IN THE MEANTIME, A FEW FINISHING
TOUCHES ARE LEFT INSIDE:
A MARBLE MOSAIC FOR THE FLOOR
AND A FRESCO FOR THE WALL...
COPIED FROM A ROMAN HOUSE
IN EPHESUS, TURKEY.
AT THE END OF THE DAY, TONY
AND BRYAN TURN ON THE WATER.
IT TAKES SEVERAL HOURS
TO FILL THE POOL.
TOMORROW IS BATH TIME.
THE TEAM HAS WAITED SEVEN WEEKS
AND A LIFETIME
FOR THIS EXPERIENCE.
BUT WHILE EVERYONE SLEEPS,
SOMETHING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG.
WE'VE GOT PROBLEMS
WELL, WHAT HAVE
WE GOT HERE TEOMAN?
WE HAVE LEAKAGE HERE,
FROM THE POOL.
Keach:
TEOMAN BELIEVES
THE PROBLEM STEMS
FROM HEATING THE BATH EARLY
BEFORE THE MARBLE WALLS
WERE COMPLETELY DRY.
THE MORTAR AT THE JOINTS DIDN'T
HAVE THE PROPER SETTING TIME
AND IT CRACKED.
Yalcinkaya:
YES... SO, I MEAN,
IT'S LEAKING CONTINUOUSLY.
WHATEVER YOU PUT INSIDE,
IT'S LEAKING.
WE'VE LOST THE CONTENTS
OF THE WHOLE BATH.
YES.
Keach:
THERE IS A QUICK SOLUTION...
SILICON SEALANT.
IT'S NOT ROMAN,
BUT TIME HAS RUN OUT
AND EVERYONE IS ANXIOUS
TO TAKE THEIR BATH.
WASN'T TODAY THE DAY
OF THE GREAT HOT BATH?
Yalcinkaya:
YEAH, WELL...
AND I SOUND AS THOUGH I NEED IT.
YOU WILL PROBABLY
HAVE A BATH.
BUT IF YOU
DON'T HAVE IT
I'LL TAKE YOU
TO A TURKISH BATH.
AH, THAT'LL DO.
Keach:
WITH SOME LINGERING DOUBTS
EVERYONE GATHERS
FOR A FINAL LUNCH...
A VERY LENGTHY LUNCH
WHILE THE POOL SLOWLY FILLS.
FEW PEOPLE HAVE WAITED SO LONG
TO TAKE A BATH.
BY LATE AFTERNOON, THEY HAVE
A DATE WITH HISTORY.
Keach:
REAL ROMANS
WOULD BE BATHING NAKED
BUT, REAL ROMANS WOULDN'T BE
BATHING ON NATIONAL TELEVISION.
FOR THESE MEN, A WELL-PLACED
TOWEL CAN PROTECT THEIR MODESTY.
THE WATER IS ABOUT
100 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.
THE ROOM IS EVEN HOTTER.
Fagan:
TO STEP IN A BATH HOUSE WAS TO
STEP IN TO THE ARMS OF PLEASURE.
TO EXPERIENCE THE RELAXING
EFFECTS OF THE WARM WATER
AND THE WARM AIR
TO SOCIALIZE WITH FRIENDS
AND NEIGHBORS...
AN ALTOGETHER
A JOYFUL EXPERIENCE.
Keach:
AS THEY FILE OUT
OF THE HOT BATH
GARRETT IS REMINDED WHERE
THE HEAT IS COMING FROM.
WATCH THE FLOOR!
Keach:
LIKE GOOD ROMANS,
THEY HEAD FOR THE COLD ROOM.
THE FRIGIDARIUM POOL
HAS LEAKED AS WELL.
IT MAKES THE ACT OF SUBMERGING
A BIT UNDIGNIFIED.
BUT IT'S A REQUIRED PART
OF THE FULL EXPERIMENT.
Yegul:
THIS THE ONLY
SCIENTIFIC EXPERIENCE
THAT I KNOW IN THE WORLD
WHICH HAS RECREATED
A MODEL ROMAN BATH, TRUTHFULLY
USING ANCIENT MATERIALS
AND ANCIENT METHODS...
AS MUCH AS WE COULD.
AND I WOULD DEARLY LOVE
THIS MONUMENT TO BE PRESERVED
AND TO BE KNOWN IN THE
SCIENTIFIC AND HUMANISTIC WORLD.
Keach:
TODAY, THE LITTLE BATH
STILL STANDS
IN AN OLIVE GROVE
IN SART, TURKEY.
TEOMAN STILL LIVES
AND WORKS NEARBY;
IT WILL BE SAFE IN HIS HANDS.
Yalcinkaya:
WE'LL COME AND CHECK
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH HERE.
AND IT MIGHT TURN OUT
TO BE A PLACE
FOR ACADEMIC PEOPLE
AND THE TOURISTS TO VISIT.
SO, THERE WILL BE SOMETHING NICE
COMING OUT OF IT AT THE END,
IT LOOKS LIKE.
NEXT WEEK ON
SEEKERS OF LOST EMPIRES
STEEPED IN LEGEND,
LOST TO TIME
A MARVEL OF DESIGN
AND CRAFTSMANSHIP.
WHAT SECRETS
CAN THE STRUCTURE REVEAL
ABOUT ITS ANCIENT BUILDERS?
SPEND A DAY AT THE ROMAN BATHS
SEE WHAT'S
ON THE MENU.
ENJOY
THE ENTERTAINMENT.
IMMERSE YOURSELF
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THEY TELL INTRIGUING STORY...
I BELIEVE THAT
I'M A BLACK JEW.
BUT CAN CUTTING-EDGE GENETICS
TRACE THE LEMBA
TO "THE LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL?
NEXT ON NOVA.
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