The Roman baths at Bath
The Roman baths at Bath were built on the site of an earlier British sacred spring.
The water comes from rain falling on the Mendip hills in Somerset. The rain percolates through layers of rock and becomes heated by geothermal forces and saturated with minerals. It comes to the surface again at Bath, as a thermal spring.
The original goddess of the spring was called Sulis. The Romans called the place Aquae Sulis (Waters of Sulis), and regarded Sulis as a manifestation of Minerva.
In their present state the baths are still fed by the spring, and the water enters by the original Roman lead water-pipes.
Originally the baths were at ground level, with a wooden roof. Later, a heavier tile roof was built, and the columns had to be enlarged to bear the extra weight. The original pillar-bases remain, but most of the stone-work above the baths is of later date. Much of the Roman baths is unexcavated, as it lies beneath the building of Bath Abbey. The statues of Roman emperors overlooking the baths are only a few centuries old.
Bath became a fashionable society town during the Regency period in the eighteenth century - much of the architecture dates to that period.
At that time, the water-level of the baths had been allowed to rise - the brown stains on the walls show the height that it reached.
In the twentieth century, the baths were drained and cleaned, and the original level of the water was restored.
The water is so hot that it steams. Its murky green color is due to the high mineral content and also to bacteria and other organisms in the water. It is no longer safe to bathe in the water due to the bacterial contamination.
View of the King's Bath from the present ground level
View of the King's Bath
The water enters from under the stone in the back right corner
View of the King's Bath from the street
The Sacred Spring
The statue under the canopy is of "King Bladud", the reputed founder of Bath
The brown stains on the walls show how high the water level was during the Regency period
The small bath
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
Department of Religion
ENMU Station 19
Portales, NM 88130
Last Updated: February 2, 2010
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