Pompeii: Spectacular new discoveries unearthed including a private spa

Those lucky enough to use the bathroom suite will have been undressed in a dressing room with vibrant red walls and a mosaic floor dotted with geometric patterns inlaid with marble from all over the Roman Empire.

They will then go to the hot room, take a dip in the bath and enjoy the sauna-like warmth, provided by the suspended floor that allows hot air to flow underneath the walls and cavities where the heat can circulate.

Then they will move to a brightly painted warm room, where the oil will be rubbed into the skin, before being scraped off with a curved tool called a strigil.

Finally, they will enter the largest and most spectacular room of all – the frigidarium, or cold room. Surrounded by red columns and frescoes of athletes, visitors can cool off in the plunge pool, which is large enough to fit 20-30 people inside.

“In the hot summer, you can sit with your feet in the water, talk to your friends, maybe enjoy a cup of wine,” said Dr. Zuchtriegel.