In 1908 baths were excavated in Serrières, a district of the city of Neuchâtel. The ruins were then neglected and quickly decayed. The documentation of the excavation has disappeared, and so have the paintings from the building. In 2006 and 2015 the building was investigated once more. It was used from the first half of the first century to at least around 300 AD. The baths might have formed part of a villa. However, the building is located exactly in the only place where, until 1810, the Serrière stream, which flowed into the Lac de Neuchâtel, could be crossed. Perhaps we should therefore rather think of a mansio, an inn and stopping place.
The baths as they appeared in 1913. Photo: De Reynier 2018(1). Abb. 1.
The baths as they appear today. Photo: Google Maps, Jerome S.
Plan of the baths. De Reynier 2018(1). Abb. 3.
1: apodyterium; 2: frigidarium; 3: laconicum; 4; caldarium; 5: praefurnium; 6-7: cold rooms; 9: sudatorium (?); 10: praefurnium;
11: drainage channel; 12: vestibule; 13: cold room; 14: heated room with a basin; 15: courtyard; 16: Mediaeval tomb.
Reconstruction drawing of the baths. From the information panel.
Literature
De Reynier 2018(1).
[11-Dec-2023]
