Aquae Flaviae - The Roman Thermal museum

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The Roman Thermal museum.jpg

We continued our pedestrian tour of Chaves and went through alleys and alleys to Largo do Ramalde in search of the most famous restaurant in the city (which I will tell you about later). But before we got there we passed a building called AQUAE FLAVIAE (the old name of the city). I confess that we didn't know what it was about, but we saw a lot of people at the entrance as soon as we turned the corner and went to have a look.

We were stunned by what we saw! Even our little one was in disbelief that this place was in front of her!
The Roman baths museum (discovered in 2004) and entry is free.
This is the best preserved medicinal spa complex on the Iberian Peninsula.

Chaves must have reached the peak of its occupation in the Roman era, especially after the construction of this spa.
The fact that there are thermal springs is one of the reasons why it is believed that the Roman people settled here.

How was this important historical landmark discovered? As they explained to us, an underground car park was going to be built in this location, and for this to happen an archaeological survey was necessary and behold, in one of these surveys a pavement made of granite slabs appeared. This was an indicator that there were ruins of medicinal baths. That said, excavations continued and changed the location of the park.

As soon as we enter we see a model that allows us to see what the building that housed these therapeutic pools really looked like. This complex stands out from other hygienic spas both because of its shape and its function.
From what was excavated we can see the following: two huge pools, which were fed by thermal springs, and other smaller ones, around which there were rooms dedicated to various treatments: massages, spray baths, individual immersion baths and treatments in between of steam.

The museum has interactive screens that allow us to understand in layers how everything was built, as well as an explanation of each space and everything that was recovered there.
I felt like I was traveling back in time and for a few seconds I closed my eyes and imagined what it would be like to see that space completely filled with Romans.
There is a staircase that allows us to go down to the enclosure and have a view at eye level (see how they saw it), but unfortunately it was closed, so we always saw it from the top.

In the corridor that surrounds almost the entire complex we can see various finds, calamus sharpening knives, bracelets, carnelian necklace beads and much more.
And with the fury of an earthquake everything disappeared.
The proclamation of Christianity as the dominant religion in the Roman Empire marked the beginning of the end for pagan temples, including the prestigious baths of Aquae Flaviae. What had once been sacred gave way to the reuse of its structures for buildings or paving.
Fortunately, we managed to recover part of the story once again even after so many years.