Filth Beneath the Marble

Filth Beneath the Marble examines Roman baths, stolen clothes, and the machinery supporting imperial comfort. The book follows the water, heat, labor, social opportunity, and vulnerability behind the bathing experience. Topics include the people working beneath the floors, body cleaning, theft and curses, patronage, women’s presence, claims about water, service relationships, imperial building, and the consequences when heating ceased. Ancient literary episodes, accusations, and later traditions are identified rather than treated as i...