BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Bathing Complex Discovered at Egypt’s Tel Nasser

Footbaths and bathing pool found in eastern Delta

Aerial shot of bathing complex discovered at Tel Nasser in Egypt’s eastern Nile Delta (the two circular features at bottom, right are the tholoi). Courtesy the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities announced the discovery of a bathing complex at Tel Nasser in the Port Said area of the eastern Nile Delta. The site’s earliest occupation dates to the late fourth/early third century BCE, but the bath complex probably dates to the late first century BCE. The excavation provides new evidence for the history of settlement, architecture, and especially water management in the eastern Delta during the late Hellenistic and Roman periods.

The most significant discovery is the first integrated bathing complex to be found at Tel Nasser. It has both a private bathing unit and a larger public bathing facility, with an organized system for water supply and drainage. The private unit includes a circular pool approximately 8 feet in diameter, constructed of red brick with walls coated in pink waterproofing mortar. It also contains two oval footbaths, associated drainage channels, and a small, low structure that the excavators suspect was connected with water heating.

The public bathing area includes two circular rooms, or tholoi, each approximately 16 feet in diameter. One of these (at left in the photo above) contains five foot-bathing installations, three of which are relatively well preserved. Each of these three installations has back and arm rests and a slip-resistant floor. The room contains an additional three basins, including one for collecting and distributing water.

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The hydraulic infrastructure is a highlight of the Tel Nasser discovery. Archaeologists identified a principal water supply channel about 20 feet long, constructed of red brick and elevated above the ground. Part of the channel was covered by a vaulted brick structure that was accompanied by a drainage system. Beneath the covered portion of the channel, excavators found an earlier water channel, along with residential walls belonging to earlier construction phases. These earlier remains indicate that the bathing complex was built within an already occupied settlement rather than representing the earliest phase of activity at the site.

Stamped Rhodian amphora handles bearing Greek inscriptions and symbols. Courtesy the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Preliminary studies of the stratigraphy and archaeological finds indicate a sequence beginning in the late fourth or early third century BCE. The earliest phase is represented by pottery associated with Cypriot traditions and Greek amphorae. A subsequent Ptolemaic phase, dating to the second and first centuries BCE, is represented by Rhodian amphora stamps as well as local and imported ceramics. The excavation therefore provides evidence for settlement at Tel Nasser well before the Roman period. The complex continued to function as a bathing facility into the second century CE, despite architectural modifications during the Roman period.

The bathing complex itself probably dates to the late first century BCE. It continued to function as a bathing facility into the second century CE, despite some architectural modifications. In a later Roman phase, parts of the complex were apparently reused for storage, an interpretation supported by amphorae recovered from the site.

Overall, the discovery provides evidence for several successive phases of activity at Tel Nasser: an early settlement predating the Ptolemaic period; a Ptolemaic settlement in the second and first centuries BCE; the construction of a substantial bathing complex in the late first century BCE; its continued use and modification during the Roman period; and later reuse of parts of the complex for storage. The ministry emphasizes the site’s hydraulic installations as evidence for sophisticated water management and compares the complex with other known bathing facilities in Egypt, including the recently discovered bath at Tel el-Hayr in northern Sinai.

Lauren K. McCormick is an assistant editor at Biblical Archaeology Review and a specialist in ancient Near Eastern religions, visual culture, and the Bible. She holds degrees in religion from Syracuse University, Duke University, New York University, and Rutgers University, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship on religion and the public conversation at Princeton University.

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