The Għajn Tuffieħa Roman Baths were discovered in 1929 during government works to cap a fresh water

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

in the area. This spring, or a similar one, might explain why the baths, which needed a constant flow of large amounts of water, were built in

Għajn Tuffieħa Għajn Tuffieħa is a bay and sandy, red beach which is located in Mġarr, Malta. The bay is south of Golden Bay. It is quieter than Golden Bay and often visited by Maltese natives themselves as well as tourist visitors. To reach this beach, one ...

Mġarr Mġarr ( mt, L-Imġarr), formerly known as ''Mgiarro'', is a village in the Northern Region of Malta. Mġarr is a typical rural village situated in an isolated region, west of Mosta. It is surrounded with rich farmland and vineyards. Many of it ...

, Malta.

Site

One of the many sites excavated under the supervision of Sir

Themistocles Zammit Sir Themistocles "Temi" Zammit (or Żammit; 30 September 1864 – 2 November 1935) was a Maltese archaeologist and historian, professor of chemistry, medical doctor, researcher and writer. He served as Rector (1920–26) of the Royal Univer ...

, it comprises a number of rooms. These represent the full repertoire seen in other Roman baths, including the

tepidarium The tepidarium was the warm (''tepidus'') bathroom of the Roman baths heated by a hypocaust or underfloor heating system. The speciality of a tepidarium is the pleasant feeling of constant radiant heat which directly affects the human body from t ...

frigidarium A frigidarium is one of the three main bath chambers of a Roman bath or ''thermae'', namely the cold room. It often contains a swimming pool. The succession of bathing activities in the ''thermae'' is not known with certainty, but it is thought ...

and

caldarium 230px, Caldarium from the Roman Baths at Bath, England. The floor has been removed to reveal the empty space where the hot air flowed through to heat the floor. A caldarium (also called a calidarium, cella caldaria or cella coctilium) was a room ...

. There is also a latrine and a corridor connecting small rooms which are usually interpreted to be changing or bedrooms. It is possible that these rooms acted as a dormitory for people visiting the baths as they cannot be connected with any residential remains of the same period. All the rooms are decorated with intricate

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

s of coloured marbles and stones arranged in geometric designs. The corridors and latrine are, on the other hand, paved with ceramic lozenge-shaped tiles of a length of just fewer than ten centimeters.

Restoration

In 1961, the mosaics underwent restoration sponsored by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

and rooms were built to shelter and protect the remains. The site has also benefited in recent years from the UNESCO funded Malta Mosaics Project, which mapped mosaics and pavements at Għajn Tuffieha and the

Domvs Romana The Domus Romana (Latin for "Roman House"), stylized as the Domvs Romana (after Latin's lack of distinction between u and v), is a ruined Roman-era house located on the boundary between Mdina and Rabat, Malta. It was built in the 1st century ...

. The analysis of this mapping has resulted in a detailed conservation plan which will be implemented in the coming years. The

European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds which was set up for the financing of Rural Development Programme (RDP) actions by European Union Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/ ...

has granted funds for the study and conservation of the site as part of the 2007 Rural Development Programme for Malta. These funds will help to create visitor facilities and open the site to the public.

External links

National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghajn Tuffieha Roman Baths Archaeological sites in Malta Mellieħa 1929 archaeological discoveries National Inventory of the Cultural Property of the Maltese Islands Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Malta Sites managed by Heritage Malta

Site

Restoration

See also

External links