Fun Facts About the History of Pools
Thinking about including a pool with your new home? People have been coming up with ways to stay cool and relax for thousands of years. The first known pool was built in Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan. Measuring 38.9’x23’x7.9’ it was built between 2000 and 3000 BCE by the Indus civilization. It was constructed from brick that was then covered in a thick layer of naturally occurring bitumen. It is speculated that it was filled with water by a combination of rain fall and well water.
The first heated pool was built in the 1st century BCE by Gaius Maecenas, a rich Roman lord and friend of the first Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus. They built the pool on brick columns and then sealed the space underneath and connected it to a furnace. The hot air from the furnace would heat the floor of the pool, in turn, heating the water without contact with smoke or soot. This quickly became popular among roman baths that commonly had several pools maintaining different temperatures.
Pool construction has come a long way since then. We now have the capability to make pools such as the 20 acre pool in Algarrobo, Chile; or the over 40 foot deep pool at NASA that is used to simulate a zero-gravity environment. We like to keep the history of innovation in mind here at C-Reese Design. Sometimes the best ideas come from going back to the basics. Austin Water Designs has been helping us for years to come up with creative ways to satisfy the relaxing poolside environment our customers crave. Check out their website at https://www.austinwaterdesigns.com/.
