Thermae thieves and pickpockets were known to frequent the baths. The changing room was known as the "apodyterium" (from Greek "apodyterion" from "apoduein" "to take off"). In many ways, baths were the ancient Roman equivalent of community centres. Because the bathing process took so long, conversation was necessary. Many Romans would use the baths as a place to invite their friends to dinner parties, and many politicians would go to the baths to convince fellow Romans to join their causes. The thermae had many attributes in addition to the baths. There were libraries, rooms for poetry readings, and places to buy
Roman Thermae (Varna) to the province of Moesia with a certain degree of local autonomy. The Roman baths of Varna were built towards the end of the 2nd century and remained in use for about a hundred years, till the late 3rd century. Coins of Roman emperor Septimius Severus (r. 193–211) have been discovered among the bath ruins. Much later, in the 14th century, the ruins of the Roman Thermae were the site of craftsmen's workshops. The ruins were first scientifically recognized as an ancient object in 1906 by the Austro-Hungarian researcher E. Kalinka. The site was further researched by Czech-Bulgarian archaeologist brothers