Talk by Dr Giacomo Savani - Rural Baths in Late Roman Britain: Prestige and Competition
What was the significance of rural baths in Roman Britain and how did their owners use them to exert influence?
In this fascinating in-person talk in our Clore Learning Centre and online, Dr Giacomo Savani (University of Leeds) will examine the relationship between rural baths and the local communities of Roman Britain, with a focus on the Roman sites of Gloucestershire including Great Witcombe and Chedworth Roman Villas.
Looking at archaeological evidence he will argue that villa owners could create sensory experiences to reinforce social hierarchies and cultural norms. In some instances, these baths might even have fostered new cultural or religious expressions.
In person and online tickets are available.
Details:
Thursday 31st July 2025
7pm – 8:30pm
Clore Learning Centre, Bath, BA11RB
Biography:
Dr Giacomo Savani is a Lecturer in Ancient History at the University of Leeds. His research explores the spread and adoption of Roman culture across different spaces and times, focusing on Roman material culture – especially baths and bathing – as a vector and an expression of political, social, and cultural relations. Before starting at Leeds in September 2024, he completed his PhD in Roman Archaeology at the University of Leicester in 2017. Subsequently, he held an Irish Research Council Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship in the School of Classics, University College Dublin (2019–2022), a Royal Society of Edinburgh Saltire Early Career Fellowship in the School of Classics, University of St Andrews (2022–2023), and a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship at the School of History, Ca'Foscari University of Venice (2024).
He is the author of the book Rural Baths in Roman Britain: A Colonisation of the Senses, published by Routledge in 2025.
