New research contests the myth that it was Christianity's opposition to nudity that led to the decline in large-scale bathing in the late Roman Empire.
(You had me at "by Sarah Bond.") https://hyperallergic.com/785529/why-did-roman-baths-disappear/
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Thank you, I love all things ancient Roman. It sounds like the decline of the empire itself contributed to the disappearance of bathing culture. The resources to support large scale bathing dried up and then the plague of Justinian decimated the coffers of the eastern empire.
Lessons from history, past and present: never underestimate the power of pandemics upon civilizations.