- For Roman baths in general, see Thermae.
The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city of Bath. The complex is a very well-preserved Roman site of public bathing, and is a major tourist attraction. The buildings, the upper portions of which date to the 18th century, are grade 1 listed.[1]
The Baths were featured on the 2005 TV programme Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the West Country.
How the Hot Springs form at Bath
The water which bubbles up from the ground at Bath today, fell as rain on the Mendip Hills many hundreds, or possibly thousands, of years ago. It percolates down through limestone aquifers to a depth of between 2,700 and 4,300 metres where geothermal energy raises the water temperature to between 64 and 96 degrees Celsius. Under pressure, the heated water rises to the surface along fissures and faults in the limestone to beneath Bath. This process is similar to an artificial one known as Enhanced Geothermal System which also makes use of the high pressures and temperatures below the Earth's crust.
History
The first shrine at the site of the hot springs was built by Celts, and was dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans identified with Minerva; however, the name Sulis continued to be used after the Roman invasion, leading to the town's Roman name of Aquae Sulis (literally, "the waters of Sulis"). During the Roman occupation of Britain, increasingly grand temples and bathing complexes were built at Bath, starting in the first century CE and used for four centuries. After the Roman withdrawal in the first decade of the fifth century, these fell into disrepair and were eventually lost due to silting up. The hot waters, thought to be medicinal, were used through the Middle Ages and redeveloped in the eighteenth century, housed in buildings by two architects named John Wood, father and son. Visitors drank the waters in the Pump Room, a neo-classical salon which remains in use, both for taking the waters and for social functions. Victorian expansion of the baths complex respectfully followed the neo-classical tradition established by the Woods (illustration, right). The Roman complex, rediscovered in the late nineteenth century and reopened to the public in 1897, as well as being a major archaeological find, has become one of the city's main tourist attractions, in multi-media presentations.
The water that flows through the Roman Baths is considered unsafe for bathing, partly due to its having passed through the still-functioning original lead pipes, but more significantly because of encephalitis having been found in the water. The newly-constructed Thermae Bath Spa nearby, designed by Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners, allows modern-day bathers to experience the waters via a series of more recently-drilled boreholes.
Gallery
 Great Bath |
 Sacred Spring |
 Hippocamp mosaic |
 Spring overflow |
 Frigidarium (cold pool) |
References
External links
- Roman Baths official website
- Roman Baths Quicktime VR
- The Roman Baths jump Video
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