Investigation of the Military Bathhouse Complex at 'Ayn Gharandal

This poster presents the Roman bathhouse uncovered during the 2015 season at 'Ayn Gharandal, a Tetrarchic military fort located in the Wadi Araba just north of Aqaba, Jordan. Sitting underneath the loose desert sand, the fort's bathhouse has been remarkably well-preserved providing invaluable information about the technology of Roman building techniques, the management of natural resources at the site, and hints of the interaction between the Roman military and local traders in a period of imperial expansion and power-consolidation. In the 2015 season, two squares were opened in the bathhouse: one investigated the heating systems of the cauldarium (hot room) and tepidarium (warm room), and the other strove to uncover the graffiti on the walls of the frigidarium (cold room). While reaching these goals, new rooms were found: a praefurnium (furnace), a courtyard, and an additional room of unknown use that was dense with artifacts including coins and cooking pottery. Through examining the structures of these rooms and the artifacts found within them, this poster will aim to explain these rooms' ancient uses, reconstruct human activity in and around them, and contribute to our understanding of the cultural significance of a Roman bathhouse on the Arabian frontier.