Baths of Rome - logistics

[JeffF]

Are their any estimates of the amount of wood (tons) the combined baths of Rome used on a daily basis? Say around the time Caracalla's Baths were in operation. What about the amount of water used daily (gallons or tons)?
Thanks

[jvrjenivs]

I'm not sure where I read about it, but I think a good evaluation was made on the Roman baths which showed that it was highly efficient and even competative with modern heating systems.

[Kegluneq]

Are their any estimates of the amount of wood (tons) the combined baths of Rome used on a daily basis? Say around the time Caracalla's Baths were in operation. What about the amount of water used daily (gallons or tons)?
Thanks

Bear in mind that you have to qualify exactly what you mean by wood, as there are several different forms it could take: whole trees, processed timber, bundles/faggots, charcoal, coal (although perhaps not the latter in Rome itself?), and even old and broken furniture. The total supply of fuel will represent some combination of these, and as such estimates (which also have to take hours of operation into effect) will vary wildly.

Sorry for not actually answering the question...

[jvrjenivs]

Just came accross this website on facebook:
http://www.uibk.ac.at/ipoint/blog/1044993.html

Might be of any help in your query.

[JeffF]

In one of the many historical TV programs (can't remember which) it was said the baths required thousands of tons of wood daily to operate. I always suspect such information but whatever the figure the amount of wood must have been enormous requiring long convoys of wood carrying carts and Tiber river barges transporting it to the city. Over decades and centuries the wood must have come from ever increasing distances at increasing cost and using more and more transportation resources. Entire local forests must have been denuded of trees. Such a huge logistic effort must have required administrators to coordinate the operation. Are there no records or evidence of this? I looked through my copy of Pliny but found nothing.

[Nathan Ross]

A quick hunt on Google Books turns up a few suggestions:

Roman Baths and Bathing(DeLaine & Johnson, Journal of Roman Archaeology 1999) looks like the book you need. The snippet claims that 'If Rome had a population of 0.9 million, its baths would need about 40,000 tonnes, making a total for Italy of 120,000' I would guess this figure is per annum...

The chapter on 'The Consumption and Cost of Fuel in Hypocaust Baths' looks like it provides more detailed estimates.

The common estimate of 114 tons/year for an average bath appears to derive from John Perlin's 1989 book A Forest Journey. Another book (Deforesting the Earth) relates this figure to the Welwyn baths, and says that the figure represents the equivalent of an acre of mature hardwood or 23 acres of coppiced forest.

The same book goes on to mention Severus Alexander setting aside woodlands to provide bath fuel, the rise of lignari as specialist firewood traders, and salt contractors shipping firewood up the Tiber from North Africa.

This one also mentions a 'guild of wood suppliers' (presumably the lignari again) with 60 ships used for importing bath wood. No reference appears to be given though!