Museum city of BATH (UK)

[franciscus]

Salvete omnes,

I'm back from a 5-days-tour of London and South-England and I could not resist visiting the city of Bath (the Roman Baths). I was surprised to see a small but interesting museum... and not only a 2000 years old swimming pool ! ;-)

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In around 65AD the Romans were the first to use the hot waterspring (45° C) for their own purposes, they used engineering techniques to built a temple and several baths around the sacred spring. The spring was dedicated to the goddess Minerva, originally the Celtic goddess Sulis (that is why the roman named the spring Aqua Sulis). Any water, not required for the spring went via an overflow system towards a drain (that still works perfectly today, directing the water to the river Avon.

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Lined with 45 sheets of tick lead and 1.6 metres deep, the Great Bath is accessed by four steed steps surrounding it

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You can see the use of lead for manufacturing "waterproof" linings and waterpipes...

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In the main building is a museum with quite a lot of artefacts and interesting archeologic findings...

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gravestone of a "Belgian-Roman legionary" Julius Vitalis, armourer in the XX° Legion Valeria Victrix with 9 years of service, aged 29 year. a Belgic tribesman with funeral paid by the guild of armourers, lies here.


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The XX° legion who may have been involved in building the baths


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So, I hope you enjoyed the pictures. When you ever visit Bath...please visit the Roman museum and baths

[ParthianBow]

I'm glad you liked the museum, and the baths, Frank. The baths especially are stunning. I'm lucky enough to live 10 miles/15 km from Bath, so I've been quite a few times. Any visitors to our house who express an interest quickly get taken there.

[Vindex]

Thanks for the reminder.

I haven't been to Bath for a very long time and one tends to forget we have these little gems in our provincial cities and towns in the UK. I also take for granted that I travel the line of Roman roads to and from work every day and don't really appreciate it

EDIT: Is there anyone else wondering why a washer from a catapult is found in the sacred spring :?

[Renatus]

Is there anyone else wondering why a washer from a catapult is found in the sacred spring :?

You know the rules - anything you can't explain is ritual!

[Vindex]

Is there anyone else wondering why a washer from a catapult is found in the sacred spring :?

You know the rules - anything you can't explain is ritual!

...or high status.

Happily, I don't miss Time Team at all...

[ParthianBow]

@Moi: Perhaps an artilleryman was asking that his machine not mis-function the next time he used it in combat? Or he slung it in when drunk, after fumbling in his purse and pulling it out instead of a large coin? Or it got dropped in by mistake?

[franciscus]

"Is there anyone else wondering why a washer from a catapult is found in the sacred spring ?"

I think it was found "locally"... not "in" the pool itself...

It seems that the XX° legion was involved in the construction, but in the museum no further details about that...

a couple more pictures...

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