Roman Bath in Bath at last!

Hello. Happy Tuesday to you!

For such a long time I've intended to visit the City of Bath, mainly to visit Aquae Sulis-Minerva Baths, the Roman Baths. And I'm delighted to say that after the Historical Novelist Society Conference finished in Devon, I headed up to Bath for a couple of days before flying home.

The Great Bath

The weather wasn't kind since it rained for almost the whole 48 hours of my visit. That wasn't so good for taking photographs but I snatched some in between the drenching showers.

The Roman Baths are a sight to behold. It's quite amazing to realise that the Great Bath at Aquae Sulis Minerva was being constructed during the Vespasian era (AD/CE 70s)  when my fictional Garrigill Warrior clan are in action to thwart the domination of their Roman usurpers in northern Britannia.

I was absolutely ecstatic to get some of my own photographs of the statue of General Gnaeus Iulius Agricola. I've used a Wikimedia Commons image for years and I had the idea in my head that the statues (of notable figures e.g. Julius Caesar/ Roman Governors of Britannia) were all way above the Great Bath. That proved not to be the case! When the Victorians uncovered a lot of the Great Bath site they reconstructed the walls, building new pillars behind the partial remains of the originals. By the end of the 19th Century, the statues were added to the balustrade that topped the newly constructed walls. Therefore, the statues were all created using a current perception of what the body armour etc. might have been like. (The original wooden roof had fallen down in antiquity and covered the lead lined floor of the bath)

General Gnaeus Iulius Agricola

The whole Roman Baths complex is stuffed full of information for the tourist and it's quite a sinuous process moving from one area of the museum to another. I had pre-booked a ticket for the complex which included an Audio Guide, but had also booked a separate Guided Tour of 1 hour. That was a great combination because I was able to wander around the museum areas and get a feel for the site before the tour guide gave more detailed explanations, some not available on the Audio Guide.

The gilded bronze head of the goddess Sulis Minerva is stunning! Having been unearthed in the 1720s, finding the statue head was an indicator that there was something very worthwhile still to be uncovered nearby.

It's not clear if the Great Bath was used simultaneously by both male and female bathers, or if it was used on a timed sequence of male/ female only bathing. It's thought that they were probably available to anyone who could afford the entry fee. The booths/ niches on the outer edges were more for social or leisure interactions like chatting with friends or business clients, or for playing games.

The idea of spending a good few hours in a leisure spa like Aquae SulisMinerva in some way equates to the trend today for SPA packages. 

I drank some of the 'healing' water from the springs. It tasted okay, but sadly didn't ward off the cold that was clearly already brewing in me because it was full-blown when I arrived home a day after drinking it.

Though I've just mentioned that the Great Bath was opened towards the end of the Vespasian era, other parts of the complex came during later decades.

The additions during the Hadrianic era were smaller scale than the Great Bath but were clearly well laid out. It made me wonder if the women of Aquae SulisMinerva who frequented the baths preferred to be in separate areas, or if they felt that bathing together with males was a lost privilege. From what I've read of Hadrian, his edict that all bathing across the Empire be segregated suited his own preferences, but maybe not some of the women of the empire.

Bath architecture was also impressive. My hotel was very central which made walking around easy. There were plentiful choices of restaurants and what I ate was extremely tasty. 

I'd definitely go again because I didn't have time to do a 'Regency' focus and would like to visit more 'Jane Austen' sites in future. 

I'd totally recommend a visit to Bath! 

Slainthe!