The Roman Baths: One of the best-preserved Roman remains in the world
The Roman Baths, constructed in around 70AD as a grand bathing and socialising complex, is one of the best-preserved Roman remains in the world.
It’s also one of the finest historic sites in Northern Europe.
It’s located in Bath - one of only a few places in the world where the entire city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Here, the Romans built a magnificent temple and bathing complex on the site of Britain’s only hot spring, which still flows with natural hot water.
In fact, 1,170,000 litres of steaming spring water, reaching 46°C, still fills the bathing site every single day!
It is unsurprising that the Romans chose to build such magnificent baths in Bath.
The area benefits from hot springs from the Mendip Hills which arrive at the Roman Baths at a temperature of 46 degrees Celsius and rise due to enormous pressure.
Prior to the Romans discovering these springs, the Celts dedicated this phenomenon to the Godess Sulis.
The Romans equated Sulis with their own deity, Minerva, and kept the original name by calling the town Aqua Sulis – the waters of Sulis.
The baths featured a heating system known as a hypocaust - cutting edge for its time!
A furnace heated the air in a series of well-designed hollow pipes and passages under the floors and in the walls.
This system was fundamental to the caldarium, where the floors were so hot that patrons had to wear wooden shoes to protect their feet from burns.
The heart of the complex is the Great Bath, a lead-lined pool filled with steaming, geothermally heated water from the so-called "Sacred Spring" to a depth of 1.6m.
Though now open-air, the bath would originally have been covered by a 45m-high barrel-vaulted roof.
Roman Lead Pipes
Some of the ancient lead pipes here are 2,000 years old and still in use.
Lead, a by-product of the ancient silver smelting process, was produced in the Roman Empire with an estimated peak production of 80,000 metric tons per year – a truly industrial scale.
The metal was used along with other materials in the vast water supply network of the Romans for the manufacture of water pipes, particularly for urban plumbing.
The lead was poured into sheets of a uniform (10 ft) length, which were bent to form a cylinder and soldered at the seam.
The lead pipes could range in size from approximately 1.3 to 57 cm in diameter, depending on the required rate of flow.
However, some historians argue that lead poisoning plagued the Roman elite with diseases such as gout and hastened the empire's fall.
Over time, the Romans observed that individuals who consumed water transported through lead pipes often experienced adverse health effects, such as abdominal pain, gout, and mental disturbances.
Additionally, they noticed that the taste and smell of the water were affected when it passed through lead pipes.
These observations, combined with the writings of ancient scholars such as Vitruvius, led to an understanding of the potential dangers of lead poisoning from lead pipes.
A trip to the baths was ideally something a Roman might do daily, although it depended upon their status.
For the wealthy, the working day was over by lunchtime, so there was plenty of time for a leisurely visit to the baths in the afternoon.
It might be more difficult for those who worked long hours – the poor and enslaved – who might only get a chance infrequently.
The Romans regarded bathing as essential for many reasons - they believed that there was a close connection between bathing and health.
Experts often recommended bathing to prevent illness, and medical practitioners prescribed different types of bathing to treat specific ailments.
The great Roman orator Cicero once wrote that bathing was one of ‘the necessities for life and health’.
Bathing was also socially important: the bath-house was where one met friends and socialised but also made an important statement of one’s ‘Romanness’.
Aside from seeing the main bath, there is also a museum in Bath that contains artefacts found at the bathhouse.
A lot of these items were located at the Temple of Sulis Minerva.
The temple had its own bath for the Goddess (the Sacred Spring) where people could worship Sulis Minerva.
If a local Roman had been wronged, they would write a curse on lead or pewter against whoever hurt them and throw it in the sacred spring.
It was believed Sulis Minerva would intervene and bring justice for the transgression.
Perhaps not surprising many people wrote curses because someone had stolen their clothes while they were at the bathhouse.
Too bad the Romans didn’t invent lockers and padlocks!
Now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Roman Baths are not just a local treasure but a globally recognised symbol of history and culture too.
Today, the Roman Baths are no longer used for bathing.
Tragically, in October 1978, a young girl swimming in the restored Roman Bath contracted naegleriasis and died.
This led to the closure of the bath for several years. Tests showed Neagleria fowleri, a deadly pathogen, in the water.
However, the newly constructed Thermae Bath Spa nearby, and the refurbished Cross Bath, allow modern-day bathers to experience the waters via a series of more recently drilled boreholes.
The stunning Thermal Bath Spa (pictured below), is one of the only places in Britain where you can bathe in natural hot springs.
If you’d like to learn more, you can visit this magnificent landmark yourself.
Walk on ancient pavements as the Romans did 2,000 years ago, and explore chambers historically housing changing rooms and tepid plunge pools.
Be sure to pick up an audioguide and listen to fascinating commentary as you slowly make your way around the site, available in 12 languages and with special guides for children.
The Roman Baths attracts over one million visitors a year – making it one of the most visited heritage attractions in the United Kingdom.
Bath as a whole is an incredible, historic city to explore.
Bath's stunning, honey-coloured Georgian architecture is straight from a Jane Austen novel; highlights include the iconic Royal Crescent and the majestic Circus.
We’s also highly recommend visiting Prior park, which has one of only four Palladian bridges of this design in the world.
This awesome bridge (pictured below) was created in the 18th century by local entrepreneur Ralph Allen, with advice from 'Capability' Brown and the poet Alexander Pope.
Set in a sweeping valley above Bath, you can enjoy magnificent views across Bath - Prior Park is often overlooked and definitely worth a visit!
There’s plenty to see beyond the city, too, with beautiful Somerset countryside to explore.
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