Through the Temple and Baths of Aquae Sulis

(Continued from Tuesday's post)

The route of the tour takes you below the passage known as "Abbey Churchyard" towards Stall Street. You walk at the original Roman level and can see the remains of the Temple Courtyard. The remains of a major altar (but probably not the only one in the courtyard), where animals were sacrificed. Near to it is the Haruspex Stone. This was given  by a Haruspex - a person responsible for removing the organs of the sacrificed animal for examination in order to predict the future. One of the treasures is the gilded bronze head of Minerva. It had been re-gilded many times - probably because of the effect of being close to a constantly burning flame within the temple. Ordinary people would never have seen this. The inside of the temple was exclusive haunt of the priests.

The next highlight is the sacred spring itself. You can watch (it is very relaxing) the bubbles as heated waters (42C) rise. Once this would have been a mystical place - as the spring in its natural state brought up bubbles and steam in a slight valley near the River Avon. There were other natural hot springs in the vicinity, but this was the biggest. It provided both the heat and the water for the Great Bath. You can see the roman plumbing as the water was taken through and around the building before being discharged towards the Avon. Numerous coins were thrown in and a chart shows the dates of these coins. The oldest comes from the period of the Roman Republic (dated to 133 - 31 BCE), whilst the greatest number date from the reign of Antonius Pius (138-161 CE).

There were a number of springs in the area - and over time a walled town grew up. The map to the left shows the main roads serving the spa at Aquae Sulis.

While the Great Bath is the centrepiece of the complex, other baths and rooms were available. Many alterations were made over the Roman period. On our way to and from Bristol we used the Fosse Way which links Bath to Cirencester, Leicester and Lincoln. The M4/A419/A420/A34/A4421/A421 route between Bath and Milton Keynes is quicker - but I love the route following the Fosse Way as it goes through Cirencester, and close to the superb Roman Villa at Chedworth and close to the source of the River Thames.

The tour finishes with an opportunity to taste the hot spring water. Then you can visit the gift shop. (The shop is also accessible from Stall Street, but there is no direct access to the Baths.

If you are in the Bath area, it is well worth a visit. - and don't forget to take a look at Barry Cunliffe's excellent "Roman Bath Discovered"! The latest information about visiting the Roman Baths is here.

Roman Bath

Last weekend I was in the West Country. I had the opportunity to travel from Bristol to Bath, one of  my all-time favourite places. The day was spent in the Roman Baths - a place I have visited many times in my life, and there have been many great developments there over those years. The visit (which includes a handheld guide - with various options, and the ability to choose which places you listen to the relevant recording) was excellent. There are additional tours led by a guide at different times of the day.

At the end of my previous visit, I had invested in some excellent books. There is "The Essential Roman Baths" which is a well illustrated summary guide produced for visitors. Barry Cunliffe's excellent "Roman Bath Discovered" reports his own archaeological digs, and brings together the evidence gathered in earlier excavations. I found it indispensable, both before the visit, and during my walk around.

The statues of the Roman Emperors and governors were only made and erected less than 130 years ago, so were of limited interest. It was the height of the Bath building in later Roman times that staggered me - it was close to the height of the nearby Bath Abbey. It would have towered about the town of Aquae Sulis (Bath) Part of the vaulting for that ceiling was on display. It replaced an earlier lower wooden roof - which had rotted in a relatively short period.

I was particularly impressed at the so called "Gorgon's Head Pediment", found in 1790 - in pieces - now on display just off the Great Bath. I spent some time there listening to the commentary and reading Cunliffe. A light display allows you to see what it originally looked like - with "missing pieces", and of greatest help, in the original colours. A gorgon is a female creature - but this is definitely a man. His hair was red. It was carved by Gauls from Gaul - no wonder that it doesn't look like a Roman god, but a red-headed celt. It was probably their depiction of Neptune - who shared divine responsibility for waters with Minerva. The goddess inside the temple was Sulis Minerva - a Celtic goddess seen as the local version of Minerva. The Roman Baths website states that "Sulis is the Celtic goddess of healing and sacred waters and Minerva the Roman goddess of wisdom." Minerva was herself an Etruscan goddess adopted by the Romans who was very similar to Athena (both burst from the head of the Chief God who had devoured her mother - in order to prevent her birth). Minerva and Athena's symbol was the owl - who can be seen on the pediment.

I took loads of photographs, and only a selection are on this blog. Moving on, there was an excellent exhibition of finds - and their explanations. I was particularly interested in the story of Julius Vitalis - who probably came from what is today, Belgium, joined the Roman army at 20, was an armourer within the Twentieth Legion and died aged only 29. His memorial is now next to a display showing the work of an armourer.

Other exhibits include the coins found in the Beau Street Hoard (there is a publication available just about this produced by the British Museum) and curse tablets.

In tomorrow's post I will describe the latter part of the tour.