Hi, my name is Stefan and in this very short
presentation, I would like to transport you roughly
about a quarter of a mile away from the colosseum
right above Oppian Hill
which is one of the seven legendary hills of ancient Rome
in 104 AD, Emperor Trajan started his
complex of "thermae" or baths
which were finished in "the Kalends" month of 109 AD
"The Kalends" was the first day of each month
and we still use the word today for "calendar"
It was massive, none of this remains
what does remain are the remnants
of the bricks and of course
the concrete that the romans used so effectively
which they called "opus caementicium"
literally "a composition in stone"
of course very little remains
but I like to bring people over here
because you know, in a way you can get
a real good idea of the feat of engineering
and the materials that the romans used so well