Matt Lawson, age 13, of Dayton, Ohio, for his question:
WHEN WERE THE FIRST BATHTUBS USED?
Bathing has been a part of man's way of life since ancient times. Baths were used as part of religious ritual purification for some people and also as a part of health and comfort in other societies.
Bathing facilities have been discovered in excavations of the ancient ruins of Mohenjo Baro in India that date back before 2000 B.C. They have also been found in the royal palace of Knossos in Crete. These date back to between 1700 and 1400 B.C.
On ancient Greek vases there are paintings of primitive showers.
Only cold water was available in the early Greek public baths, which were built as part of their gymnasiums. However, by the late Fifth Century B.C. there were public baths run by the city that offered steam, hot, cold and temperate rooms that served as social centers for men and women. The ladies used separate quarters that were smaller than those used by the men.
The baths at Pompeii built about 200 B.C. are the earliest known Roman baths. Their arrangements were similar to the public baths found in other parts of the Roman Empire. The baths were built around a center courtyard that was used for exercise. In various rooms were bathtubs offering water in a variety of temperatures.
Mosaic tile floors and walls in the Roman baths were heated by a hypocaust or hollow space that circulated hot air through flues.
In ancient Roman times, water was sent great distances by aqueducts.
Early Christianity considered physical cleanliness less important than spiritual purity and it did not encourage private bathing, which it considered to be evil. Bathing came to be thought of as unhealthy and it was frowned on as an indulgence.
Early Finnish and Russian families built small wooden rooms where steam was created by throwing water on heated rocks. Bathers sweated, soaped, rubbed and then washed.
In the Middle East and in southern Europe about the 15th Century, Islamic societies enjoyed baths for religious, hygienic and social purposes. They built very sophisticated bathing locations. Public baths were built in every town that had a mosque.
Early Japanese also thought a great deal of social bathing. Almost every house had a bath, which was an indoor wooden tub or a garden pool.
In public baths, washing was done first in private, but a whole family would then soak in a hot tub. Also, many large public baths featured mineral or hot springs that made it possible for many families to bathe together. These customs continue in modern Japan.
The puritanical nature of the 16th Century Reformation further discouraged bathing in Europe and the American colonies. But time eventually changed that.
By the middle of the 20th Century, cleanliness was considered to be desirable and because of modern mass production, most dwellings had their own indoor baths.