Michigan State University professor to deliver Archaeological Institute of America lecture at Randolph

Jon Frey

Randolph will host an Archaeological Institute of America lecture on Tuesday, Feb. 4, in the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College. 

Jon Frey, a Michigan State University classical studies professor, will discuss “The Origins of Roman Bathing at the Sanctuary of Poseidon at Isthmia” at 5 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public. 

In addition to being one of the most recognizable monuments at the site, the Roman Bath at Isthmia in Greece continues to yield surprising discoveries. Excavations in the 1960s through the 1980s revealed not only the 2nd c. CE structure but also parts of an earlier Greek-period pool of impressive dimensions—a fitting monument at a Sanctuary of Poseidon. 

Most recently, a re-investigation of the excavated material and associated documentation has revealed the presence of a third structure that fits in time between the other two. 

Frey’s presentation discusses these buildings by focusing on the discovery in this location of tegula mammata—a peculiar type of tile used in heating systems in Roman-style baths prior to the adoption of the more common tubulus. These artifacts provide evidence for changes both to Roman building practices of the 1st c. CE and to the athletic sanctuary as Romans from the re-founded colony of Corinth returned to Isthmia with their own unique needs and expectations. 

The lecture is sponsored by Randolph College’s museum and heritage studies program and the Lynchburg Society of the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA Lynchburg).