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The Roman heating system was called a hypocaust. How did Romans heat their homes?Rich Romans liked to be warm and cosy. They had central heating at home, in villas and in public baths. The heating system was kept going by slaves, who kept a fire blazing in a furnace to heat warm air. The warm air moved around the building through spaces under the floors and between the walls.
With the decline of the Roman Empire, the hypocaust fell into disuse, especially in the western provinces. In Britain, from c.400 until c.1900, central heating did not exist, and hot baths were rare. In the Iberian Peninsula, the Roman system was adopted for the heating of Hispano-Islamic (Al Andalus) baths (hammams). A derivation of hypocaust, the gloria, was in use in Castile until the arrival of modern heating.