Roman Thermae (Varna)

This Roman bath complex was built during the 2nd century CE while Odessus was part of the Roman province of Moesia. Coins of Septimius Severus (ruled 193-211 CE) were found among the ruins. The entire complex spanned over 7,000 square meters, and the tallest buildings reached 20 meters in height. The Thermae featured facilities such as an apodyterium (changing room), a frigidarium (cold pool), a tepidarium (warm pool), and a caldarium (hot pool) as well as a palaestra (a space with social and athletic functions). They were heated with a hypocaust, an underfloor heating system of pipes. A decline in usage and the decline of the Roman Empire led to its abandonment and partial destruction in the 3rd to 4th century CE. A new smaller bath complex was built 300 meters south of it in the 5th to 6th century CE, it is known as the Small or South Thermae of Varna. Excavations of the Large Thermae occurred from 1905-1906 by E. Kalinka, and soon after by brothers Karel and Hermann Skorpil. Further excavations occurred from 1959-1971 by M. Mirchev.