Thermal bathing is an interesting concept, anthropologically speaking. Archaeologists have traced the practice back to before 11,000 BC – though experts aren’t entirely certain whether a dip in a volcanic hot spring at that time in history would have been ritualistic, medicinal or simply a way to keep clean.
Hot springs remain a fascinating aspect of the Earth’s naturally-formed landscape – created when water is heated by contact with hot rocks or magma within the Earth's crust before it rises to the surface through faults – and they appear all over the globe. They’re also seemingly tied to several communities that live long, healthy lives.
