Cob: Pipes under floor - roman bath

[Dognyard]

Some time ago, PBS had a series called "Secrets of Ancient
Civilizations", and one of the programs was on building a Roman Bath. It
was a really good show.

I don't know if/when they may re-run the series, but it may be possible
to buy a tape of the show. It really was fascinating how they heated the
bath houses.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/lostempires/roman/builds.html

Basically, the floor and walls contained hollow tiles. A fire was built
under one edge of the building, and the hot air was allowed to flow
through the hollow tiles under the floor, and up the inside of the
walls, to vent out at the eaves. The same fire was used to heat the
water in a large boiler for the bath itself. The website doesn't show
everything, but the show itself was very informative. Obviously this
type of technology relies on a lot of firewood, but the simple beauty of
the design was inspiring.

Karen in snowy Alberta