The Balneum, a small public bathing establishment, occupied the north part of the Octagon complex. The Balneum of Philippi was constructed after the first Roman colonists settled there in the age of Augustus, about 30 BC. During the Roman period it must have operated exclusively for male bathing. But in the mid-6th century AD (when the second Octagon was constructed), it was reconstructed to serve men and women simultaneously. It was by no means the only public bath-house in the city, since in any case it wasn’t large enough to serve all this populous city’s residents.