Name: 羅馬浴與健康：羅馬浴場到底是如何使用的？ (Roman Bathing and Wellness: How Were Roman Baths Really Used?)
Uploaded: 2025-10-19T18:33:27.000Z
Duration: 14 min 6 s

轉承詞

If you think that gym memberships, spa treatments and pampa sessions are thoroughly modern concepts, then think again, because a Roman was definitely indulging in them first.

如果你覺得健身房會員、水療護理和 pampa sessions 是現代才有的概念，那就錯了，因為羅馬人早就開始享受這些了。

In fact, Roman attitudes to health, fitness and wellness aren't all that different from today's.

事實上，羅馬人對於健康、健身和健康養生的態度和現在並沒有太大差別。

程度副詞

They were just less reliant on protein shakes.

他們只是比較少依賴蛋白質奶昔而已。

Romans exercised, socialized and shopped, just like you.

羅馬人會運動、社交和購物，就像你一樣。

Well, as long as you like shopping for tunics and amulets.

嗯，前提是你喜歡買束腰外衣和護身符。

Well, they went to the baths, but not as you know it, as we'll find out today.

嗯，他們會去浴場，但跟你想像的不一樣，今天我們就會知道。

Whether you were filthy rich or dirt poor, the baths were about so much more than your daily dip.

無論你是極度富有還是極度貧困，浴場的意義遠不止日常沐浴。

I'm Ben Shires and I'm about to take a deep dive with the experts at English Heritage to learn more about how Roman baths ran.

我是 Ben Shires，即將和 English Heritage 的專家們深入探討，瞭解更多關於羅馬浴場的運作方式。

I'm here at Roxeter Roman City, a site cared for by English Heritage, and

我現在就在 English Heritage 管理的遺址——羅馬城市沃克塞特，

I'm joined by one of their properties, historians Andrew Roberts.

我身邊有他們的其中一個管理地點的歷史學家 Andrew Roberts。

It's one of our most special Roman sites.

這是我們最特別的羅馬遺址之一。

The remains here really kind of speak to what life would have been like in Roman Britain.

這裡的遺跡確實能讓人一窺羅馬不列顛時期的生活樣貌。

Now, I'm no expert, but I'm guessing it didn't always look like this.

我不是專家，但我猜它以前不是長這樣的。

So can you set the scene for us about what Roxeter was really about?

所以你能為我們描繪一下羅克塞特當時的真實樣貌嗎？

So if we were standing here about 1800 years ago, we would have been standing right at the center of the city of Roxeter as the Romans knew it, Viriconium, and

所以如果我們在 1800 年前就站在這裡，我們就會站在羅馬人所知的羅克塞特（當時名為 Viriconium）的城市正中心，

we'd be surrounded by its most important and impressive buildings.

而且我們會被它最重要、最壯觀的建築所環繞。

The city was founded in about AD 90, about 50 or so years into the the Roman conquest and occupation of Britain.

這座城市大約在西元 90 年建立，也就是羅馬征服並佔領不列顛約 50 年後。

And it's really in its heyday by about the second and third centuries.

而它大約在二、三世紀時，真正迎來了全盛時期。

And what you see today when you visit Rochester is only.

而今天你們參觀羅克塞特時看到的，只是。

But the city once stretched out across what is today fields and the surrounding landscape would have been covered in shops and houses and really it would have been a really thriving place, one of the wealthiest cities in Roman Britain.

但這座城市曾經擴展到現在的田野，周圍的景觀會遍佈商店和房屋，而且它確實會是一個非常繁榮的地方，是羅馬不列顛時期最富有的城市之一。

And here where we're standing, we'd be in the middle of the public bath house.

而我們現在站的地方，就是公共浴場的中央。

And this is a complex that takes up an entire city block and consists of of a large basilica, a hall, a market, a food market, some shops and a grand bathing suite as well.

這是一個佔據了整整一個街區的建築群，包括一個大型的巴西利卡（長方形會堂）、一個大廳、一個市場、一個食品市場、一些商店，以及一個宏偉的沐浴套房。

So, Andrew, these incredible sort of excavated remains we can see behind us are what is left of the bathhouse complex.

所以，Andrew，我們身後這些令人驚嘆的挖掘遺跡，就是浴場建築群剩下的部分。

And I think for a modern audience, Romans and bathing go Hand in slippery hand.

我想對於現代人來說，羅馬人和沐浴是密不可分的。

But was it it a scrub in a tub or did it have more significance?

但這只是簡單的擦洗，還是有更重要的意義呢？

What was the link between Romans and bathing?

羅馬人和沐浴之間的連結是什麼？

Well, the Romans bathed together in rooms that were heated to specific temperatures.

嗯，羅馬人會在特定溫度加熱的房間裡一起沐浴。

And yes, they did have bathtubs, but they were kind of larger sort of communal baths.

是的，他們確實有浴缸，但那比較像是大型的公共浴池。

And it wasn't just a quick scrub, it was a far more involved process.

這不只是快速擦洗一下，而是一個更複雜的過程。

So they've really thought about this then.

所以他們真的仔細考慮過這件事了。

This isn't just come in and have a bath, this is come in and have all these different sensory experiences, as we would phrase them.

這不只是進來快速洗個澡，而是進來體驗各種不同的感官享受，就像我們現在會說的那樣。

Now I'm sure Romans weren't sold it in that regard.

嗯，我確定羅馬人當時並沒有這樣推銷啦。

They understood how the human body would respond to those different conditions.

他們明白人體會如何對這些不同的環境做出反應。

Well, certainly, indeed, at a place like Roxeter where they had this large bathing suite, you'd have different kinds of heat.

嗯，當然，確實，在像羅克塞特（Roxeter）這樣擁有大型浴場的地方，會有不同種類的熱度。

So you'd have a sort of a wet, steamier heat and you'd have a drier heat, almost like a modern day sauna.

所以你會有比較潮濕、充滿蒸汽的熱度，也會有比較乾燥的熱度，很像現代的三溫暖。

And then if that wasn't enough for you, you could also maybe get a massage.

然後，如果這樣還不夠的話，你還可以順便做個按摩。

And the Romans didn't like to have body hair, so you'd also have your hair plucked at the bathhouse as well.

而且羅馬人不太喜歡身上有體毛，所以你也可以在浴場裡順便把體毛拔掉。

I mean, that's a full on body mot, isn't it?

我的意思是，這根本就是全身的保養了，對吧？

It's easy to sort of draw those modern comparisons, isn't it?

這樣很容易就可以找到現代的對比，對吧？

Because there's so much about this bathing complex, this sort of vast site dedicated to something that we still do today.

因為這個浴場建築群，這個廣大的地方，有很多東西是我們今天還在做的。

And it wasn't just bathing taking part in this complex.

而在這個建築群裡，不只是泡澡而已。

Well, there's a large basilica just outside of the bathing suite.

嗯，在浴場套房外面有一個很大的巴西利卡。

And this is a really multifunctional space which could accommodate hundreds of people.

這是一個多功能的空間，可以容納數百人。

We think this would have been the perfect location for specialists to ply their trade.

我們認為這裡會是專家們施展技藝的絕佳場所。

So we think that in the basilica you would have had maybe doctors, witches, hairdressers and makeup artists.

所以我們認為在巴西利卡裡，你可能會看到醫生、巫師、髮型師和化妝師。

So they're kind of taking care of your needs that aren't taking care for in the bath itself.

所以他們在處理你在浴場裡沒辦法處理的需求。

So there's all sorts of ways to spend money here.

Presumably then the more money you had, the better or more lavish an experience you would get.

假設那時候你擁有的錢越多，你得到的體驗就會越好或越奢華。

I think that would be fair, but it's still pretty nice and luxurious.

我覺得這樣說很公平，但這裡還是很不錯、很豪華的。

Even if you didn't have a lot of money to spend, you probably find that the rich would bathe more often and they probably take longer because they had more free time.

即使你沒有很多錢可以花，你可能會發現有錢人會更常洗澡，而且他們可能會花更長時間，因為他們有更多空閒時間。

Andrew, this complex seems to be centered around health and well being.

Andrew，這個建築群似乎是以健康和健康養生為中心。

Did the Romans have a concept of wellness as we would know it today, not as we would know it today.

羅馬人有我們今天所知的健康養生概念嗎？

I don't think they would have really identified with that concept.

我不認為他們會真的認同這個概念。

But if you think about what went on at the public bath house and you think about wellness as being, say, having healthy habits that improve your physical and your mental well being and really ensure that you thrive in your life, that's definitely what's going on here.

但如果你想想公共浴場裡發生的事情，再想想健康養生就是擁有能改善你身心健康、讓你人生蓬勃發展的良好習慣，那這裡絕對就是這樣。

The Roman orator Cicero once wrote that bathing is one of the necessities for life and health.

羅馬演說家西塞羅曾寫道，沐浴是生活與健康必需品之一。

We have plenty of accounts of Romans coming out of the bath and just really feeling.

我們有很多關於羅馬人從浴場出來後，感覺真的很棒的記載。

Feeling great about themselves and having life's cares, worries, life's pains just disappear.

感覺很棒，生活中的煩惱、憂慮、痛苦都消失了。

And this bathhouse remains at the centre of Roxeter Life for over 250 years.

這個浴場在 Roxeter 生活中佔據了核心地位超過 250 年。

And what it really shows is how much the residents valued spending time in nice surroundings in good company and investing time and effort in taking care of themselves.

這真的顯示出居民們多麼重視在美好的環境中與好朋友相處，並投入時間精力來照顧自己。

And that's as important in the modern world as it was in the ancient one.

這在現代世界和古代一樣重要。

Yeah, you need to join English Heritage first, though.

是的，不過你得先加入 English Heritage。

That was a fascinating chat with Andrew about how magnificent Roxeter was in its heyday, as well as the important role that wellness played in Roman daily life.

剛才和 Andrew 的對話非常精彩，他談到了 Roxeter 全盛時期的輝煌，以及健康養生在羅馬人日常生活中的重要作用。

Well, I'm now off to catch up with Cameron Moffat, who is English Heritage's collections curator for the West Midlands, to see the types of objects that have been dug up on Roman sites like Roxeter and what these discoveries can tell us about Roman wellness.

好的，我現在要去跟 Cameron Moffat 會合，他是 English Heritage 西米德蘭茲地區的藏品策展人，我們要一起看看在 Roxeter 等羅馬遺址出土的文物，以及這些發現能告訴我們關於羅馬人健康養生的哪些事。

I am very excited to chat to you and also find out all about this amazing collection that you have in front of you.

我非常興奮能跟你聊聊，也很想知道你眼前這些令人驚嘆的收藏。

Yes, we have a huge collection from Roxeter and we have many objects that relate to bathing because it was an activity that required lots of accessories.

是的，我們有來自 Roxeter 的大量收藏，還有許多與沐浴有關的物品，因為這是一項需要許多配件的活動。

So many of the things I have in front of me are replicas and I'm going to use them to give you a really good idea of what you needed to take to the baths.

我眼前很多東西都是複製品，我會用它們讓你對去浴場需要帶些什麼有很清楚的認識。

And as the Romans did not have bath soap, what you did to get the dirt off your body away from your skin was, first of all, you did some exercise to work up a sweat and open your pores and then you would rub some oil into your skin, or otherwise you would get someone to rub the oil in for you, possibly a bath slave, and

羅馬人沒有沐浴皁，所以要去除身體皮膚上的汙垢，首先你會先做些運動，讓身體出汗、打開毛孔，然後你會在皮膚上塗抹一些油，或者請別人幫你塗油，可能是浴場奴隸，然後

then you would scrape it off with the strigil and the strigil took the oil which had lifted the dirt off your skin, took all of it away.

接著你會用刮油器把它刮掉，刮油器會帶走附著了皮膚汙垢的油，全部刮乾淨。

And then the final stage was that you would have someone would pour a cold bucket of water over you, basically.

最後一個步驟就是有人會往你身上倒一桶冷水，基本上就是這樣。

We also have the other side of Roman beliefs, the mystical and the magical side.

我們還有羅馬人信仰的另一面，也就是神祕和魔法的一面。

Their understanding and belief was that illness was almost invariably the result of being cursed.

他們認為疾病幾乎總是詛咒的結果。

And that curse would, as often as not, have come from the evil eye.

而這種詛咒，往往來自於惡意眼神。

And so one of the best and most sensible things that you could do to keep yourself healthy was to avoid being cursed.

所以，保持健康最明智的方法之一就是避免被詛咒。

And you avoided being cursed by protecting yourself with magic.

而你透過魔法保護自己來避免被詛咒。

And so I have a couple of genuine Roman amulets here which are types of magic with which you would protect yourself.

所以我這裡有幾個真正的羅馬護身符，這類魔法可以用來保護自己。

I think I had this removed last week, actually.

It was causing me some problems at the back.