Aquae Sulis

The Great Bath. Everything above the level of the pillar bases is of a later date.

For the Roman Baths complex at Aquae Sulis, see Roman Baths (Bath).

Aquae Sulis was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Bath, located in the English county of Somerset.

Development

Baths and temple complex

Model of the Roman baths and temple complex

The Romans probably occupied Aquae Sulis shortly after their invasion of Britain in AD 43, attracted by the large natural hot spring which had been a shrine of the Celtic Brythons, dedicated to their goddess, Sulis. This spring was a natural mineral spring found in the valley of the Avon River in Southwest England. The name is Latin for "the waters of Sulis." The Romans identified the goddess with their goddess Minerva and encouraged her worship. The similarities between Minerva and Sulis helped the Celts adapt to Roman culture. The spring was built up into a major Roman Baths complex associated with an adjoining temple. About 130 messages to Sulis scratched onto lead curse tablets (defixiones) have been recovered from the Sacred Spring by archaeologists.^[1] Most of them were written in Latin, although one discovered was in Brythonic and usually laid curses upon those whom the writer felt had done them wrong. This collection is the most important found in Britain.

The brythonic curse recovered on a metal pendant is the only sentence in the language that has been discovered.^[2] It reads:

Adixoui Deuina Deieda Andagin Uindiorix cuamenai or maybe Adixoui Deiana Deieda Andagin Uindiorix cuamiun ai

The affixed – Deuina, Deieda, Andagin, (and) Uindiorix – I have bound^[3]

An alternative translation being:

May I, Windiorix for/at Cuamena defeat (alt. summon to justice) the worthless woman, oh divine Deieda.^[4]

Town status

Section of mosaic floor from the Roman Baths. The main figure is a sea horse.

It was the religious settlement, rather than the road junction further north, which was given defensive stone walls, probably in the 3rd century. The area within was largely open ground, but soon began to be filled in. There is some dispute as to whether these new buildings were private dwellings or were associated with servicing the pilgrims to the temple. There was also a ribbon development along the northern road outside the walls and cemeteries beyond.^[5]

Decline

From the later 3rd century on, the Western Roman Empire and its urban life declined. However, while the great suite of baths fell into disrepair, some use of the hot springs continued. After the end of Roman rule in Britain around AD 410, some residents seem to have remained, but violence seems to have taken root for, in the 440s, a young girl's severed head was thrust into an oven in Abbeygate Street.^[6] As far back as Geoffrey of Monmouth, the Arthurian Battle of Mons Badonicus (c. 500) has been suggested to have taken place near Aquae Sulis.^[7]

Medieval legend

In medieval times, the Roman temple at Bath was incorporated into British legend. The thermal springs at Bath were said to have been dedicated to Minerva by the legendary King Bladud and the temple there endowed with an eternal flame.^[8]

An 8th century poem in Old English, The Ruin, describing the ruinous changes that had overtaken a Roman hot-water spring, is assumed to be a reference to Aquae Sulis. The poem was copied in the Exeter Book for transmission to future generations.

Remains

The Gorgon at Roman Baths Museum

Rediscovered from the 18th century onward, the city's Roman remains have become one of the city's main attractions. They may be viewed almost exclusively at the Roman Baths Museum, which houses:

• Artefacts recovered from the Baths and the Roman town. There is a fine collection of stone sculptures.
• Excavated remains of the main temple courtyard.
• The Roman Baths themselves, though some lie below 18th century stonework. Of particular note is the original Roman Great Bath still lead lined and fed by the sacred spring through Roman lead pipes.

References

External links

• 3D photosynth of the Great Bath (requires Silverlight)

Coordinates: 51°22′48″N 2°21′36″W / 51.380°N 2.360°W / 51.380; -2.360

• images and descriptions from a British Academy research project