This thesis examines the tubulus, a ceramic heating pipe developed by the Romans to create wall cavities through which hot air could circulate. An extension of the hypocaust system, tubuli systems were one of the most advanced heating systems used in antiquity, and were employed throughout the Roman Empire. This thesis focuses on the tubuli from Roman Arabia and particularly those from the site of Humayma, in modern Jordan, where a large corpus of this material has been found. This thesis represents the first study specifically on tubuli in Roman Arabia, and as such, it presents an initial examination of the material and lays the foundation for future studies on the topic. The first chapter of this thesis introduces tubuli, the region of Roman Arabia, and the history of baths in Roman Arabia. In the second chapter, tubuli and their use at Humayma are discussed in detail, and a chronological tubulus typology is presented. The Humayma tubuli are put into their regional context in the third chapter, which looks at tubuli found at sites throughout Roman Arabia. This final chapter also examines the regional trade and reuse of this material. Although this study only scratches the surface of this topic, it is able to reach several conclusions regarding tubuli and their use in Roman Arabia. These findings include revelations about the Nabataeans’ adoption and adaption of the tubulus before the Roman annexation of their territory and insights into the production and trade of this previously poorly understood material. / Graduate / 0324 / 0333 / 0579 / caharvey@uvic.ca

Abstract This thesis examines and discusses a sample of the medieval hypocausts (stone-heating ovens) in the Baltic area. The medieval construction is thoroughly explained as well as the antique hypocaust in order to establish a base for the following discussion. The medieval hypocaust has been almost forgotten for a long period of time. The last time someone dealt with this category of finds were in the 1960’s by Swedish archaeologist Iwar Andersson and in the 1970’s by Danish archaeologist Johannes Hertz. Not one archaeologist, since the early 20th century, has tried to interpret these constructions in their social contexts. The focus has always been on the construction and the technique in itself, which doesn’t lead the research any further than to a functional interpretation.   The author applies a comparative method to the literary material that is used for the thesis and discusses the origins of the medieval technique, which types there are, what contexts they appear in, what buildings and activities they can be related to, if they represent status or necessity or both and who could afford to construct them in relation to the resources that was demanded and finally why the technique was abandoned.   Keywords: Medieval hypocaust, stone-heating oven, medieval, ancient technology, the Baltic area.