Suppose you are a fan of British historical dramas or novels. In that case, chances are you have most likely heard about the healing waters of Bath, the closest thing to a vacation for the English people in the late 19th century, and a marvellous place to recuperate. The good news is that the historical site of Baths is very much real and a place still existing to date, and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site that attracts millions of visitors yearly to its thermal waters.
The Roman Baths: A History
The Roman Baths showcase the history of thermal spa culture and its importance to the Romans’ religious and social life. Known originally as Aquae Sulis, the Romans who invaded Britain constructed it over 2000. The Roman Bath is an archaeological and ancient masterpiece that gives the city of Bath the popularity that it is known for today.
The Baths are a combination of a geothermal spring sectioned off into separate bathing pools by the Romans in the 1st century AD as a healing, hygienic and social complex, after recognising the importance of the site from the Celts and Britons who worshipped the goddess Sulis in the spring water.
The Romans would later incorporate the waters into their own religious and social scene by dedicating the spring to their Roman goddess of wisdom, Minerva, whom they identified with Celtic Sulis, and built a temple to this effect beside the waters. The site would quickly become a luxurious public bathhouse and a socio-religious site for many Romans within and outside the area.
The Baths flourished for decades, but the eventual fall of the Roman Empire and their exit from Britain led to the disrepair of the once glorious site until the 1870s, when it was reopened after extensive excavation. To date, excavation still regularly takes place to open up many of the dilapidated areas and make archaeological findings lost to time.
The Journey of the Waters: An Engineering and Architectural Masterpiece
The bath water follows a well-charted path from the natural heated spring to the several pools that the Romans used to take their baths. It includes;
- The Sacred Springs: The thermal spring contains about 43 minerals mixed with its waters and still gushes out gallons of water every day at about 46°C. The Romans were skilled engineers and made use of limestone aquifers where the water journeyed through to the baths and pools, and created a reservoir to make sure that the spring water never got mixed up with cold rainwater. Temperatures in this section of the baths can get very hot and musty, so better to come prepared.
- The Great Bath: The major and most iconic centerpiece of the Roman baths, the Great Bath is the largest of the Bath areas with a large, now tepid green pool that was initially opened up to the skyline and lined with massive Victorian columns now supporting the roof. The Great Bath is surrounded by a stone walk area where original bathers would sit and chat with one another and watch the people taking a dip in the pool. Today, the pool can be admired and viewed from the stone walkways or the terrace above, but the waters are no longer open to the public due to their stagnancy and the fear of swimmers catching an infection. This doesn’t make the site any less impressive, though.
- The Roman BathHouse: The Great Bath is accompanied by bathing rooms that were as crucial to the bathing rituals for the Romans as a dip in the main pool. This included many rooms but the more impressive; The Tepidarium, a warm steamy room to acclimatise the body, followed by the Caldarium, a much hotter room complete with plunging pools to promote sweating, this was then followed by the Frigidarium, a cold plunge room and lastly the Laconium, a dry sweating room pretty similar to a modern day sauna.
- The Temple of Sulis Minerva: Opposite the Great Bath area is the temple dedicated to Sulis Minerva, now more of a museum than a worship site, showcasing statues, impressive columns, and sculpted stones, which are now broken fragments of the original pediment decorating the original temple. Still standing to date are the steps leading into the temple and four of its large Corinthian columns that held up the edifice.
The Tour
The City of Bath has opened up the Roman Baths to tourists for decades now, and the site still manages to attract a crowd. History buffs and Architecture lovers will love the bath sites where you can walk the same grounds the Romans did and the Museum Exhibits which houses a replication of how the sites would have looked back in ancient times and the thousands of artifacts found on the site, including jewelries, coins, mosaics, human bones and of course the popular curse tablets used by worshipers to curse their wrong doers and a massive gorgon head.
The museum has made access to the sites pretty easy with efficient wheelchair access areas with fully narrated audio books or tour guides to usher guests through the ruins. It also has a pretty immersive feel with ancient torchlights hanging on the walls and projections of Roman figures complete with birdsongs, chatter, and splashing waters that guide guests through the different levels of the Roman sites and the temple courtyard. The museum is kid-inclusive, and it is quite common to see large groups of students and kids on excursions at the sites.
The Roman Baths are usually open year-round, but the hours of visitation can vary depending on the season.
Spring/Summer (March-June): 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
Autumn/Winter (November-February): 9:30 am – 5:00 pm
And ticket prices do vary from kids to senior citizens and families. For a full experience, typically schedule at least two to three hours of your time, but if you aren’t a history enthusiast, that is fine, you can wait for your history lover families on the cute comfortable benches overlooking the bath streets or explore the other keynote facilities which include; The Roman Bath shops that offer books, and roman-inspired souvenirs and merchandise for guests, the Bath Abbey, a large cathedral on the grounds and the Pump room restaurant, a reimagining of an historical tea room that serves the famous Bath buns and light confectionaries.
Conclusion
The Roman Bathhouse is not just an architectural site but a testament to ancient Roman civilization and British culture, and is a must visit for lovers of history, archaeology and architecture or maybe people inspired by too much English historical fantasy and want to have a little experience of what life in the ancient times looks like.
Location: Abbey Churchyard, Bath, Somerset, United Kingdom
Price Range: £20.00 – £72.00
