Roman Baths, Bath, England

I'm sure the ancient Romans were very excited when they discovered a thermal spring in one of the empire's colder hinterlands. Even though it was on the edge of the empire, they built an amazing public facility allowing the locals to come and have a soak in hot water, maybe followed by a plunge in an icy pool (opens the pores, you know), maybe with some exercise in the gymnasium (stolen from the Greeks?), and a bit of worship at the temple that was part of the complex. 

Nowadays, everyone knows of Bath for the discover of the Roman Baths and the novel Persuasion by Jane Austen (who lived in Bath for a while). Before the Romans, it is suspected that druids lived in the area and worshipped a goddess named Sulis, who supposedly gave them the spring. In typical Roman fashion, Sulis was identified with one of their goddesses, Minerva, and a temple was made nearby to Sulis Minerva, a composite deity respecting the locals and the Romans. And the extensive bath complex that has been rediscovered.

The Roman Baths--main pool

The Romans built quite a complex as is seen in one of the first displays at the site.

Click to enlarge

The original baths would have had a roof overhead, keeping out the sun and the birds. Bathing could happen year round since the waters would naturally heat the air. The recreation has not gone that far.

Upper walkway in the open air

View from the upper walkway

I got him to pose!

Statues and people

Another statue

Minerva watching over things

Front view of Minerva

The hot spring was considered a sacred pool by the Romans. The bubbling, hot water is channeled into the main pool and was also diverted into other, smaller pools (which are now empty).

The spring

A model inside shows the flow of water from the back, through the main pool and two supplementary pools (with cooler water), eventually draining out to the River Avon.

The waterworks

Extensive excavations have found a lot of details to tell about the baths. The block below has an inscription referencing the seventh year of the reign of Emperor Vespasian, which was AD 76. 

A way to date the building

Ancient, pre-Roman coins were found in the area, indicating that the previous civilization was quite civilized...civilized enough to throw coins in a fountain for good fortune?

Pre-Roman coins

A model shows what the Baths would have been like back in the day. In addition to the "health spa" area, there were places to worship, work out, and even shop.

Model of the 1st century complex

Map of Roman Bath (the town, not the spa, which is across the street from the amphitheater)

Above the entrance was a large engraving featuring the face of a man with snakes coming out of the beard. What he is supposed to represent? The snakes suggest the Gorgons, though the Gorgons were female. The unkempt hair is a bit ungodlike, but what mortal would be over the doorway? Is he a proto-Green Man?

Originally over the entrance

A map shows the Roman Empire with Aquae Sulis (the name given to the town) pretty far off from the center of the action.

The Roman Empire

Another room has objects found in the area. A bust of a woman's head might be from a tomb. Her hair is assumed to be in fashion at the time. The displays said she probably had a special slave just to get her hair piled up in braids!

Bust of a woman

Just like everyone everywhere else and everywhen else, the Romans showed off their wealth with ornate furnishings and architecture. Below is a floor mosaic that probably was not cheap.

Mosaic floor

Though cremation was popular in Ancient Rome, some people were buried. These bones show what someone local might have looked like. Of course, many bones found have been identified as coming from other areas since many Romans moved around the empire.

A local stiff

The next room is part of the temple area. A small bass relief shows Sulis Minerva, goddess of the baths.

Sulis Minerva

The ancient Roman walkways have survived, though obviously visitors are not allowed to walk on them nowadays.

Roman pavement

Some corners from an altar have survived. Sacrifices here were most likely small animals.

Altar remains

An interesting discover is Haruspex Stone. A temple haruspex was a priest who specialized in reading omens, such as the entrails of animals and the lightening in storms. The acoustiguide that comes with admission showed a picture of a model liver (made from stone) that taught haruspexes how to interpret the condition of the bodily organ for proper divination.

Haruspex Stone

The archeologists also discovered the face of the Minerva statue from the temple. It is cast in bronze and was not very visible to the ancients, since her statue was inside the temple where only the priests went.

The face of a goddess

Another display showed various items offered in the temple to the goddess to obtain favors. Some of the favors requested were for curses to be brought upon people who committed crimes like stealing money or objects. If you did not know the culprit, you could add guesses to the curse or just rely on the divine knowledge of the goddess.

Offerings

Exiting the temple area, we got a closer look at the bubbling spring, though the bubbles are not so visible in photos. The water would have been clear back in the day. With the exposure to the sun and the birds as mentioned earlier, algae grow in the warm waters and the birds leave plenty of pollutants. Not that the people did not. Still, with the water continually being replaced, it would have been cleaner in Roman times than it is in our times.

The sacred spring

The spring has more water than the baths need, so the Romans built a drain for the extra water. It runs under the floor and out through pipes to the River Avon.

Water draining from the spring

The other end of the hall, with a tunnel to the river

This part of the visit brought us right to the edge of the water. We could sit beside the water but were not allowed to go in. When I talked to one of the docents dressed in ancient Roman clothes, she said that originally men and women used the baths together and they didn't have swim suits. When Hadrian was emperor, he declared that all baths should have separate facilities for men and women. Also, shared areas like the main pool had certain times for women and certain times for men.

Right by the water

To solve the problem (it is assumed this was a solution), the east and west ends of the baths had extra rooms for people to use.

Visiting the east baths

The rooms had a hot bath with stairs leading down and even a bench for people to sit on. 

A spot for a good soak

Next door is the hypocaust, a hot, dry room that could be made into a steam room by splashing water on the floor. The floor was raised with room for hot air to flow underneath. Slaves put hot coals in and blew air through, heating the floor stones and thereby the whole room above.

Hypocaust with floor removed

Some of the rooms had 3D projections of ancient people using the facility. Some of the effects were more photogenic than others. This room was a cold bath.

Projections or ghosts?

A changing room had some ladies getting ready for the baths but this particular display was entirely G-rated.

Changing room

We walked across to the west baths and got a last look at the main pool.

The pool and main building

The other side had another large cold water bath.

Room for a lot of people in here

A gymnasium room had projections of people doing various sports, like tossing a heavy ball or lifting weights.

Ball tossing

Another hypocaust

We saw the water flowing from the spring into the main bath!

Simple and effective!

The final part of the tour let us try drinking the spring water. 

Volunteer taste testers

My children reported that it tasted better than they expected, though they expected something quite dreadful. I have to agree, since I also took a sip.

Will he spit it out?

Afterwards, as a treat, we had gelato (Italian ice cream) at one of the nearby shops.

Palate cleanser!

The baths were amazing to visit, as was the easy history lessons on what life was like almost 2000 years ago.