Stabian baths in Pompeii. New research on the development of ancient bathing culture

The Stabian Baths in Pompeii play a major role for the reconstruction of the development of ancient bathing culture. In 1979, Hans Eschebach argued that this complex would have been de- veloped in 7 phases from a Greek palaestra with bath section of the 5th c BC into the sophisticated Roman baths that were buried by Vesuvius in AD 79. This paper shows that this developmental model must be significantly revised. It is demonstrated, based on a typological and historical assessment of Eschebach’s phases and on excavations carried out between 2016 and 2018, that the Stabian Baths were only built after 130/125 BC as a state-of-the-art Roman-type bath building. The conclusion pro- vides a preliminary reconstruction of the original building.