https://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/place/hispania_tarraconensis/toledo/Recent content on Gardens of the Roman EmpireHugoen-ushttps://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/place/hispania_tarraconensis/toledo/baths-of-rielves/Wed, 21 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/place/hispania_tarraconensis/toledo/baths-of-rielves/<h2 id="province">Province</h2> <p><a href="https://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/">Toledo</a></p> <ul> <li> <a href="https://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/search/?q=Toletum">Toletum</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/266066" title="Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places">Pleiades: 266066</a> </li> </ul> <h2 id="location">Location</h2> <ul> <li><a href="https://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/place/hispania_tarraconensis/toledo/">Rielves</a></li> <li> <a href="https://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/search/?q=El%20Solao">El Solao</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/266044" title="Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places">Pleiades: 266044</a> </li> </ul> <h2 id="location-description">Location Description</h2> <p>A village of about 600 inhabitants 19 kilometers northwest of Toledo. The ruins of the villa are often called &quot;termas&quot; (baths).</p> <h2 id="garden">Garden</h2> <p>The so-called &quot;Baths&quot; of Rielves</p> <!-- Not sure why the keywords and garden description are commented out... ## Keywords - <a href="https://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/search/?q=peristyles">peristyles (Roman courtyards)</a><a target="_blank" href="http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300080971" title="Art and Architecture Thesaurus (Getty)">AAT:300080971</a> - <a href="https://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/search/?q=mosaics">mosaics (visual works)</a><a target="_blank" href="http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300015342" title="Art and Architecture Thesaurus (Getty)">AAT:300015342</a> - <a href="https://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/search/?q=corridors">corridors</a><a target="_blank" href="http://vocab.getty.edu/page/aat/300004294" title="Art and Architecture Thesaurus (Getty)">AAT:300004294</a> ## Garden Description The major building period dated to the beginning of the 4th century, supplanting an earlier late 1st century phase.. The peristyle garden belonged to the later phase. The house is laid out around its central garden with approximate symmetry relative its north-south axis. The front of the house, the side from which guests entered, was clearly the south where the entry way [25] had a geometric mosaic floor whereas the north entrance way [7] had an earthen floor. Immediately on entry, the guest would have seen the garden through an arcade on its south side. These nine semicircular arches formed a sort of interior façade. This arcade had fallen over – or been pushed pulled over – in the destruction of the house, so it has been possible to reconstruct it in elevation, and it has been rebuilt. The Romans made extensive use of the round arch for practical purposes; this is an interesting example of its use for purely esthetic purposes, since a simple colonnade would have served just as well structurally. In the center of the nearly square garden was a small fountain which has disappeared. It was surrounded by a small mosaic which survived only as scattered tessera. Crossing the garden in an east-west direction was a pergola. A low wall under the arches prevented guests from entering directly into the garden. Rather, a walk with impressive geometric mosaics led to the main reception room [1] with a vast polychrome mosaic depicting Achilles discovered by Odyssesus among the women of the household of Lycomedes. This mosaic is believed to be one of the largest known figured polychrome mosaic of the Roman world. From the reception room one entered the garden, through the pérgola to the bath complex. The walks around the garden in the porticoes were completely covered with geometric mosaics. A variety of rooms opened off the garden peristyle, offering a variety of spaces for entertaining and activities of daily life. Many did not open directly on the garden but may have had window through which to view the garden. Javier Cortes noted that hardware was found around the edges of the garden suitable for wood vanes which may have closed the spaces between the columns in cold weather. Asked about the quality of the soil in the garden, he replied that it was rich but so was all the soil in this river bottom area. The large number of objects of daily life found in the ruins, some under toppled walls, makes it clear that the villa was violently destroyed, probably in the second half of the fifth century, though the date is uncertain. --> <!-- ## Maps --> <h2 id="plans">Plans</h2> <figure> <img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/roman-gardens/gre-images/main/content/place/hispania_tarraconensis/toledo/his_tar_rie_baths_fig1.jpg" alt="Plan of The so-called &#34;Baths&#34; of Rielves at Toledo Province, Spain. The axial plan of this villa and its mosaics are representative of the luxurious villas of the late Imperial period. The semicircular colonnade, which enclosed the garden, was typical of North African villas. The garden may have been watered with run-off from the villa baths. " onclick="fullscreen(this)"> <figcaption> Fig. 1: Plan of the "Baths" of Rielves.</figcaption> </figure> <h2 id="images">Images</h2> <!-- ## Dates --> <h2 id="bibliography">Bibliography</h2> <ul> <li>Mª C. Fernández Castro, Las llamadas &quot;Termas&quot; de Rielves (Toledo), in Archivo Español de Arqueología, L-LI. CSIC, Madrid, 1978, pp. 209-251. <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1122498001">(worldcat)</a></li> </ul> <h2 id="places">Places</h2> <ul> <li> <a href="https://roman-gardens.github.io/test-drafts/search/?q=El%20Solao">El Solao</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://pleiades.stoa.org/places/266044" title="Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places">Pleiades: 266044</a> </li> </ul>