Pilae stacks are stacks of

pilae Pilae (singular ''pila'') is the Latin word the ancient Romans used for "piers", "piles" or "pylons", vertical pillars often used to support structures such as hypocausts. Pilae were also used in concrete piers in the Gulf of Pozzuoli at Baiae, ...

tiles, square or round tiles, that were used in Roman times as an element of the

underfloor heating Underfloor heating and cooling is a form of Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, central heating and cooling that achieves indoor climate control for thermal comfort using hydronics, hydronic or electrical heating elements embedded in a fl ...

system, common in Roman bathhouses, called the

hypocaust A hypocaust () is a system of central heating in a building that produces and circulates hot air below the floor of a room, and may also warm the walls with a series of pipes through which the hot air passes. This air can warm the upper floors a ...

. The concept of the pilae stacks is that the floor is constructed at an elevated position, allowing air to freely circulate underneath and up, through the hollow bricks, into the structure walls. Examples of such baths are found not only in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, but also in distant parts of the Roman Empire such as

Roman Britain Roman Britain was the territory that became the Roman province of ''Britannia'' after the Roman conquest of Britain, consisting of a large part of the island of Great Britain. The occupation lasted from AD 43 to AD 410. Julius Caes ...

, or

Chellah The Chellah or Shalla ( or ; ), is a medieval fortified Muslim necropolis and ancient archeological site in Rabat, Morocco, located on the south (left) side of the Bou Regreg estuary. The earliest evidence of the site's occupation suggests that th ...

, in modern-day

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

.C. Michael Hogan. 2008 This architectural technique was the first form of underfloor heating and the same principle is still used today.

Notes

References

* C. Michael Hogan. 2008
''Chellah'', The Megalithic Portal, ed. A. Burnham
* J.H. Middleton. 1892. ''The Remains of Ancient Rome'', Published by Adam and Charles Black, v.2 Ancient Roman baths Ancient Roman architectural elements Ancient Roman pottery {{AncientRome-stub

See also

Notes

References