My pleasure - and thanks for your kind words about the book! If you pre-order it now (or anytime this summer), it should ship on September 1. In the meantime, you can read a few excerpts here: toldinstone.com/naked-statues-fat-gladiators-and-war-elephants/
@@toldinstone hello - been watching tons of your videos, thanks. Question about the Bathe springs - I thought the reason you currently can’t touch the water is because of the lead? Is there still bacteria in it? Or did Victorians continue using the baths not knowing they were giving themselves lead poisoning? Like their green wallpaper etc?
There's a still-functioning Roman aqueduct not too from where I live in Switzerland. It was the water supply for the town until the late 19th century and is still used to feed a fountain. Amazing engineering.
That's fascinating. Out of curiosity, where is that aqueduct? (I keep a running list of structures that I might want to mention in future videos, and that sounds like a contender.)
The Roman amphitheater in Plovdiv, Bulgaria is used to this day. Buried for centuries it was unearthed in the 70's and hosts classical music and rock concerts. It's gorgeous.
@@sutty85 what part are you confused about? Have you ever heard war , called Theater? religion is a curse to all humans. Every war is a racket. he Royals are all Lunatics and they just get the people to fight each other
It is truly amazing how many Roman buildings and structures are still in use today, almost 2 thousand years later. Their builder's would be so proud of their achievements, and of Rome's Might. Cannot imagine anything we build today, still standing. let alone, still being used, 2 thousand years from now. Another brilliant narration of History. Cheers!
Actually good quality modern buildings will last longer. They're built to withstand earthquake, flood and fire. They have steel rebar and computer testing. Many a town hall etc will be standing. Cardboard and wood American homes won't. But most decent stone buildings have an excellent chance.
@@smallbeginning2 Yeah, I think most skyscrapers for example will survive for thousands of years, even neoclassical buildings will survive for a long time along with structures such as large stadia, dams, tunnels, bunkers, bomb shelters, stuff like washington monument and other crazy megaprojects will survive for a long long time even without maintenance.
I think the Cloaca Maxima in Rome should be in your next list. It was one of the world's earliest sewage systems, and although very little water runs through it in the present days, it has been continously in use for over 2500 years.
You are very wrong, the worlds earliest sewage systems was in Iran, Italy wasn’t one of them. The wester world always wanna portray Greece and Italy as one of the first, truth is those 2 countries copied everything from the East!
@@BlueBlue-mm7kn "One of the earliest", as I wrote, is very different from "First in the world" as you state I did. And your last assumption is completely wrong, in Italy we learn in primary school that the so called "Fertile Crescent" hosted advanced cities and society way before the Roman Empire.
In the 1980s I was lucky enough to see Ray Charles perform at the Arles theater you mentioned, and I have to say it was spectacular. What a wonderful site. So glad it has lasted through the ages.
The Tower of Hercules in A Coruña (Spain)! It's the oldest functioning lighthouse in the world. It doesn't look exactly as it did in roman times because it went through periods of neglect and had to be restored several times, and each time they changed it a bit, but it's the same building being used for its original purpose. And that rich history is part of its charm, I think :)
It's a difficult and subtle thing you do - getting across those feelings, that frisson, that oddly moving connection to the past, that ancient buildings can evoke. Well done.
Those Roman buildings may be 2000 years old, but some Egyptian temples still more-or-less standing are 3500 to 4000 years old: but they were buried in the sand for about half of that time.
The First Nations people left the land in pristine condition, and we just built ugly cities on it. I think they are just as impressive, if not moreso, than the Romans. Thousands of years of living with nature.
@@alukuhito The North American natives razed their forests, harvested so many trees that the south-west & plains became barren, and also attempted to build ugly cities over the land, you have no high-ground here m8.
My dad was a teacher for ancient latin and greek. He would have loved your videos as I do. Some of the sites you show we have visited during our family holidays.
Guys, it is Friday night, I've consumed two beers (which now makes me kinda tipsy these day), and I'm excitedly watching the the new toldinstone video on Roman history. I think I might be officially old. I like it.
don't worry man, you are not old at all I'm 26, it's past midnight, I have smashed some whiskey, watched like 7 toldinstone videos in a row, and had a great time apparently history lessons and alcohol are made for each other
In my city (Split) we still use the Roman aqueduct that was restored in the 19th century. We also use some churches that were temples in the roman times. The most famous of them being the cathedral of Saint Dominus which is the oldest Christian cathedral still in use.
Hi. There is a bridge in Zakho in Kurdistan Iraq that is called Dalal. Whilst its actual date of construction is not for certain, it is widely believed that it is a Roman era bridge, due to its similarities to another Roman bridge in Northern Syria. The bridge is still in use today. Regarding other roman buildings still in use today, I'd advise that you look more into Croatia. Also. There is another beautiful Amphitheatre in Lyon. It is also still in use today for shows etc.
In Romania we have Baile Herculane (Hercules baths), it is a small resort with thermal springs which was used by the romans who conquered this teritory and it is still in use today. New investors are slowly reviving this old resort and tourists are there all the time. The springs are said to have great effects on bones, painful back and joints etc. Also, in Budapest, Hungary there is also the Szecheny Fürdo, a thermal bath which dates back to the romans and is still in use today. I was there for 1 day, the water is warm and relaxing, highly recommended for good health.
The Basilica at Trier in Germany is another Roman building still in use. The Roman city gate, the Porta Nigra is also still standing and is very impressive.
In 1987 we went to Turkey and we also visited Pamukkale. We were laying there and had annice day. In the afternoon we visited Hierapolis and i climbed all the way up the theatre structure and had an amazing view over the entire area. There was much wind up there. My mother made a picture from that moment. I was 14 then. In the beginning of the journey we also visited Istanbul again and visited the enormous, still water tight, waterreservoir with the many pilars in it. We were invited by our Turkish neighbours and when we were there, near Emirdag, we visited many old sites. Their oldest son brought us to many places in the mountains were Christian people lived. My father drove both trips to Turkey with his own car. It was my best holiday ever. Regards from 🇳🇱
We use lots of Greek and Roman theatres in Turkey for concerts and plays, it doubles the experience simply due to amazing athmosphere. Its mindblowing to think about that someone from Italy, Spain and Turkey can share a similar experience because of Roman heritage.
I recently visited Nîmes to see the Maison Carée, the Árennes, the Tour Magna and the Pont du Gard. It was incredible! They are all so much larger than you’d ever imagine and just standing near them felt amazing! Love your videos! :)
Thank you for providing the quality content that assuages my guilt for going down a youtube rabbithole. I may have spent the last hour watching videos, but they've all been about fascinating places that I've added to my map of places to visit (and attributed to you so I remember why I have this saved place!)
Enjoyed this very much, thanks. I was stationed at Incirlik, Adana, Turkey in the early eighties and I always enjoyed crawling around on history. You couldn't throw a stone in that city without hitting something Roman in origin.
You highlight so many structures that other channels never mention. It's like they only cover the most well known tourist attractions which are mainly in Rome or Greece/Athens specifically. . While you show and explain real gems from around the vast empire, that most people have never heard of. Many of which show the real backdrop of everyday roman lives better than the well known tourist attractions do Thank you.
So glad to see you starting to get the recognition you deserve. This is one of the best history channels out there, looking forward to your future content.
You build things around "Hot Springs" and then without warning, the nearby volcano erupts and everything gets destroyed. Relocate the structure and restore the story again..... repeating history :) Love your videos - LOVE the book!!! Thank you
It would be amazing if you make a similar video with ancient Greek buildings or theaters that are still used today. Like Epidavros or Panathinaiko stadium!
Good video. Fascinating. The Roman ruins just take me back to when I was there. The amphitheater in Verona is amazing. It's perfectly useful and well maintained. The Roman engineers were incredible with the simple technology they had. Why couldn't the English have used chlorine to kill the bacteria so people could still use the bathes? I think that was an excuse to close down the use. Thanks for posting such a great video.
Yes it is surprising that they don’t use the baths and Bath today, though there must be a good reason to be had with a little research. I bet in the future it will be open
@@matteobertotti that’s a myth, we know it’s components, but for some reason don’t use it. There are good RU-vid videos on the subject if you’re interested
@@banditmc12 No, that's not a myth. The fact that you know that diamond is made of carbon doesn't mean you know how it gets created. Of course we know what Roman concrete is made of (spoiler: concrete), but that doesn't mean we could recreate it. We use reinforced concrete, which is as resistant, but not as durable. Their concrete underwent a refining process which is lost to us.
Amazing! Thank you for sharing about these places. I love Roman history and being in Rome and Pompei and other sites is an unique experience I had the opportunity to do. Looking forward to visit some of these places!
While I certainly like modern comforts, lead is really not that much of a problem most of the time. Do you often drink pool water? You would be suprised how many older buildings still have at least some lead pipes for drinking water. We installed them right up to the 50's. I know my house still has some. It's not even a problem, the hard water in most tap water lines lead pipes with calcium scale, and there's no measurable lead in the water.
Another brilliant video. Thank you! I got to bath in the Roman pool at Khenchela a couple of years back pre-virus. Some have bucket lists, I had a Roman bath list. 😂 Algeria has the best Roman ruins I’ve seen anywhere. There are some early Byzantine fortifications build out of Roman temples and triumphal arches that are still used by shepherds too.
Out of these, I've seen several, but the ones that impressed me most were the aqueduct at Segovia and the baths in Pamukkale, which I used when I was there. I remember the water was really nice and the bath itself was very comfortable
There is also the Aqueduct that Hadrian began constructed in Athens in 125 CE and completed fifteen years later (140 CE), during the reign of Antoninus Pius. The aqueduct was repaired, and put into operation again in the 1850's operating up until 1940.
I was once strolling around Istanbul as a teenager visiting relatives, until i stumbled upon the aqueduct of Valens. I remember that i immediately started to research every bit of it.
Loved the clip! The Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens is still in use. I am about to finish your book, what a treat! Very easy to read and thoroughly enjoyable! GARRETTUS MAXIMUS: “Are you not entertained?!” READERS & SUBSCRIBERS: “👍”
Super! Thank you. Such a great channel. Oh, Bath's Roman baths were famously in use much before the late 19th c., and late-19th-c. construction was not a discovery but an enhancement. Queen Anne, consort of James I, used the baths in 1619, and the height of prominence was late 18th and early 19th c.
I am amazed that James I's consort used the baths, since her husband, "the wisest fool in Christendom," famously never bathed at all as an adult. His predecessor, Elizabeth I, took a bath once a month "whether she needed it or not." Her father, Henry VIII, had a new-fangled bath put in at Hampton Court and required his physician's attendance when he made use of it. During an outbreak of plague he ordered the public heated baths or "stews" (which doubled as brothels) at Lambeth closed since the fear was that bathing would let disease enter through the open pores of the skin.
I like how whilst empires and countries may change over time, no body really wanted to mess with the aqueducts in these locations. As they may have hated each other, but the aqueduct was friends to all for millennia. Truly a great tree planted with the ones doing so knowing that they would never get to fully enjoy its shade. I wish more of such forward thinking were applied to projects today.
"The temple of Augustus and Livia, in Vienna - France" Got a little brain knot before remembering that there is another Vienna, that isn't in the province of Noricum
I've been to most of these, and others, what beautiful and evocative places they are. I've even been been to see the structures built by Roman prisoners of war in Iran after the defeat of the emperor Valerian by the Sassanid Shah Shapur 1st. Great sites for history buffs like me.
I read in a book on ancient engineering that the oculus served another, more important function. One thing the Romans understood was the circular arch. If you picture the dome as a series of pie shaped arches, the oculus is the keystone of every arch. That would make it more of a 3 dimensional arch than a dome.
6:38 - It looks like *the bathing woman is naked* from the waist down and only has a top on (bottom right corner) =D Loved this btw. I love antiquity and Rome. It makes me happy when their structures are still used
As you note when a building is put to use it's chances of survival greatly increase. When maintenance is withheld and condition worsens the cost of repairs is often cited as a reason for demolition. We need a long term plan to ensure that culturally significant building get the legal protection and resources to ensure their survival. As an example the industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie funded the construction of numerous libraries most constructed in the classical style. Most are now gone for the sake of short term gain.
But maintaining buildings actually is expensive. Why would you spend scarce public money on elegant, but not exceptional 20th century buildings? I would rather prioritize the continued function of public libraries.
@@eljanrimsa5843 Public libraries in the UK began throwing out their older books in the 1980s to make space for audio cassettes and later videos and DVDs, which were not free to borrow. Then they got rows of PCs. Children and students don't read books any more, so councils are closing libraries and museums to save money to spend on social care. The Carnegie libraries are fading away like the Library of Alexandria did under Christianity.
That is one of the points that I hope most viewers take away from this video. If a building is constantly used throughout the ages, then it will hardly fall into ruin. For example, plenty of marvelous monasteries would be in better condition today if they had been adapted into schools (or something of the sort), rather then left as mere tourist attractions, once the building's use as a monastery ended.
@@93corollausa94 Not really, it's a full museum with lots of things to see, and it's 2000 year old plumbing. It's easy to not realise how old that is. It even has under floor heating from Roman times. You can only swim there during special events with a special ticket. 99% of people don't ever swim but everyone dunks their hand in to feel the warmth and you can drink the (cleaned) bath water from a fountain in the museum, which has been a revered medicine for thousands of years, but it tastes like old pennies so ew.
@@kenboydart I taught high school history here in the USA at a LARGE high school. History of any region on earth was not taught if it occurred prior to 1492 INCLUDING European history. I lived in Germany after WWII near Trier and my family would visit the Roman ruins very often and this is where I fell in love with Rome and its Empire. Because of this early childhood experience I majored in ancient history to early modern history of the 1600's of all regions not just Europe. I had in my classroom only picture examples of classical Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Persian, Chinese, Indian, etc. of buildings and landscapes. Since Rome was my favorite I was able to explain how many modern buildings are based on Roman construction methods of design such as modern day sport arenas, public buildings and the use of the construction material cement. i kept telling my students that there is "nothing new under the sun" including indoor plumbing. I LOVED ancient history. I also appreciate what the ancient people of the world gave us. I had a few student interested in my pictures but not enough to want to learn anything new about the locations presented. So much can be learned IF people and school systems would allow this to be taught AND we had students who really want to learn about the ancient marvels.
@@jilledmondson6894 Have you read this from Jill, Garret ? How could it be put any better . On occasion I work at our local High school and I can tell anyone that students are not being taught much, but they do want to learn . And from time to time I tell them [ with permission ] stories from the Arts and History . They listen and they enjoy the conversation . So, its not a lack of interest, they are just not being taught enough of where we came from . I’m an Artist/craftsman for many years and I need to teach students how to measure as basic skills are lacking . BTW anything from ancient Rome fascinates me to no end, its a life long passion and study .
Very informative! You may be interested to know there are Roman pools still in use in Gafsa, Tunisia. Also, between the island of Djerba and the coast, the connecting jetty is attributed to the Romans and is also still in use.
@@toldinstone I lived in Tunisia for 3 years in the early seventies. You could visit ruins from the Punic era all the way to the recent French occupation. Some sites were well guarded, but for many others you could just walk in and play in the ruins ( I was around 10). In Sbeitla, I remember climbing in and out of a cruciform baptismal basin covered in mosaics! It is astounding to think this was allowed and seemed normal back then...There are many well preserved Roman buildings in Tunisia (Dougga for ex.) that deserve to be talked about.
@@alaingadbois2276 I spent a week in Tunisia in 2014, but that wasn't nearly enough to see what the country had to offer. I hope to return soon, and to make a few videos for this channel.
I plan to do a whole series on Roman Egypt - I visited a few years ago, and have quite a few pictures - but haven't yet decided when to release those videos. Stay tuned...
When a thought of Plato becomes a thought to me, - when a truth that fired the soul of Pindar fires mine, time is no more. When I feel that we two meet in a perception, that our two souls are tinged with the same hue, and do, as it were, run into one, why should I measure degrees of latitude, why should I count Roman years.
Here in Slovenia, we have a complex called Roman spa, inside is still roman era jacuzzi, a smal deep square 2 by 2 bath from stone with stairs to go inside
Does San Nicola in Carcere qualify here? Or maybe the Mamertine Prison? Also, video suggestion: the several "layer cake" churches in Rome (Santa Pudentiana, Santa Agnese in Agone, Santa Cecilia and of course San Clemente). Love these videos.
Both San Nicola and the Mamertine Prison are excellent examples of the urban continuity that makes Rome so special. As it happens, I'm planning to make a San Clemente video in the relatively near future. Stay tuned...
Very interesting as always, found your channel a day or two ago and have been binging the videos. Very calm and relaxing presentation and of course, very "lived-in" for the building ones. Great content!
