The Baths at Yavneh-Yam

If you're going to defend a strongpoint against enemy forces you're going to need to deal with field hygiene.  The Romans had that problem:

The Roman baths uncovered within the fortress, says Prof. Fischer, leave little doubt that in the 12th century, the fortress was still inhabited by Arabs rather than Christian crusaders. 

“This is an outstanding and rare find,” he says, describing the baths as a scaled-down version of traditional Roman baths, heated by hot air circulating between double floors and pipes along the walls. The crusaders did not build these types of baths, and after the end of the Early Islamic period, they disappear altogether. “You don`t see these installations again until the revival of such techniques by modern technology during the 19th century,” explains Prof. Fischer. “This marked the finale of the use of a traditional Roman bath house in 12th century architecture.” 

Most likely, the fortress played host to a changing roster of military captains and their men, installing the baths to provide these men with additional creature comforts. Although the baths themselves are largely destroyed now, researchers found large marble slabs that adorned the walls, and ascertained that the view from the baths overlooked the sea.

Given the news of the Iraq pullout, I am of course given to thinking of the thousands of shower trailers that we built -- in the form of shipping containers with the appropriate hardware -- and hauled to the desert.  We tried to take over existing structures -- Camp Victory was established in one of the most developed sites of Iraq, the Presidential grounds outside Baghdad where Saddam feasted the upper-crust of the Baath party.  There was nothing in existing hardware that was adequate to the task of Multinational Forces - Iraq.

One wonders what, if anything, archaeologists will make of our short time there.  Nothing, one assumes; the history before and the history to come will likely wipe out all trace of what we did to the physical culture of Iraq.  

As for the moral and political culture, that is in their hands now.  May God defend the right, as we have tried to do, according to our limited understanding and poor powers.  Yet I have faith in the people of Iraq, whom I have known in small ways over the years.  There are dark days to come, I do not doubt; but I trust that Fate, at the very last, shall be kind to that brave and long-suffering people.  They have chosen to take their chances with their own hands, and that is a choice fit for a free man.  Good fortune to them.