Games, baths, and spectacles – leisure culture in Roman Carnuntum

When crowds of people flocked to the amphitheater on game days in Carnuntum, when the babble of voices and laughter drifted out of the thermal baths, or when dice clattered across wooden game boards in the taverns of the civilian town, a side of Roman life became visible that had long been overshadowed by military history and administrative organization: the world of leisure, conviviality, and pleasure. Especially in a border location like Carnuntum, where soldiers, merchants, craftsmen, families, and local elites lived together, leisure was not a marginal phenomenon, but an essential part of urban culture and social integration.

Strigiles and other Roman personal care products - © Römerstadt Carnuntum

The Roman term otium does not simply describe idleness, but actively organized free time – as the antithesis of negotium, i.e. service, work, and obligation. The amount of free time available depended heavily on social status. While the urban upper class could use their leisure time for banquets, visits to the baths, or literary pursuits, craftsmen, merchants, and soldiers had less time at their disposal. Nevertheless, archaeological finds and literary evidence show that various forms of entertainment were enjoyed by all social classes.

Sala thermarum in the reconstructed public baths in the Roman quarter - © Römerstadt Carnuntum

The thermal baths were at the heart of the city's leisure activities. Carnuntum's large bathing facilities—above all the large Forum Baths, known today as the “palace ruins”—were much more than just places for personal hygiene. They were places where people met to talk, relax, play games, and engage in physical activity. Numerous small finds reflect this diversity of use. Particularly characteristic are strigiles – curved metal body scrapers used to remove oil, sweat, and dirt from the skin. They are among the iconic objects of Roman physical culture and at the same time refer to the close connection between training, care, and social interaction in the thermal baths. They are complemented by oil vessels, ointment bottles, and small glass containers that make bathing and grooming practices tangibly visible.

Body scraper from Carnuntum (inv. no. CAR-M-2594) - © Landessammlungen NÖ

Physical activity was part of this leisure culture, without being organized as a separate “sport” in the modern sense. Ball games such as trigon or harpastum were played in the palaestrae surrounding the thermal baths, along with gymnastic exercises, wrestling, or simple forms of training. Archaeologically, the corresponding equipment is rarely directly detectable, but literary sources and accompanying finds – such as strigiles, oil vessels, or training weights – allow conclusions to be drawn about corresponding practices. Personal hygiene, training, and socializing formed an inseparable unit here.

Reenactors wrestling during the harpastum game at the Carnuntum 2024 time travel event - © Römerstadt Carnuntum

In addition to the thermal baths, the city offered other leisure facilities. The amphitheater provided the most spectacular form of public entertainment. The fact that Carnuntum had two such facilities—one near the legionary camp and one in the civilian city—underlines the enormous importance of the games. Gladiatorial combats (munera) developed into one of the most powerful forms of mass entertainment during the imperial period. 

They were often organized by high-ranking officials or politicians, who used them to generate prestige, loyalty, and political visibility. Animal baiting and executions are also documented in the provincial Roman context. Even if there is no clear evidence of chariot races or a permanent theater in Carnuntum, it can be assumed that amphitheaters were used for multiple purposes—such as pantomime, plays, or performances accompanied by music.

Gladiators battling at the Roman Festival 2023 - © Römerstadt Carnuntum

Away from these monumental venues, leisure activities often took place on a smaller scale. One of the most archaeologically tangible leisure activities in the private sphere is gaming. Numerous dice and game pieces have been found in Carnuntum. Games were played in taverns, at banquets, in thermal baths, or in private households. The fact that gambling was restricted by law did little to diminish its popularity. The dice were often complemented by game pieces made of bone or glass. These were used in board games such as ludus latrunculorum, a strategic positional game. 

Particularly impressive are the carved playing fields on stone slabs, bricks, or stair steps—improvised game boards that turned public spaces into places of leisure. Such carvings are also known from Carnuntum and show how naturally games were integrated into everyday life.

Archaeological finds from Carnuntum: dice (inv. no. CAR-OR-30), glass cup (inv. no. CAR-G-21), and game piece (inv. no. CAR-OR-15) - © Landessammlungen NÖ

Closely linked to games and socializing was the culture of taverns and drinking. Taverns (tabernae, cauponae) served as social meeting places where wine was served, games were played, music was made, and people danced. Although literary sources paint a morally ambivalent picture of these places, archaeologically and socio-historically they were firmly integrated into everyday urban life. Music was a central element of entertainment: flutes, stringed instruments, drums, and percussion instruments accompanied both public games and private celebrations.

For the upper classes, leisure time was particularly evident in the context of prestigious banquets. Such convivia combined culinary enjoyment with social self-expression, political networking, and cultural entertainment. Music, recitation, dance, and pantomime could all be part of these evenings. 

Dancers at the Roman Festival 2022 in Carnuntum - © Römerstadt Carnuntum 

Here, otium meant a structured sequence of reading, correspondence, physical exercise, visits to the thermal baths, and evening socializing. At the same time, leisure time was distributed unevenly across society. Craftsmen, merchants, and day laborers were heavily tied up with gainful employment. For them, opportunities for enjoyment were concentrated on holidays, visits to the thermal baths, or evenings at the tavern. This is precisely why collective entertainment venues had an integrative function: they brought together the military and the civilian population, immigrants and locals, the wealthy and the destitute in shared experiences.

They show how people spent their free time: playing, bathing, drinking, exercising, celebrating. Leisure time was thus socially differentiated, but omnipresent. Especially at the empire's border, it served as a cultural binding agent that made the Roman way of life tangible and also created identity. Carnuntum thus appears not only as a military location and administrative center, but also as a vibrant urban society whose everyday life was shaped as much by pleasure as by duty.

Roman reenactors playing dice in the portico of the Villa Urbana - © Römerstadt Carnuntum