#WashUpWednesday

The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city of Bath. The house is a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing. There are four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman temple, the Roman Bath House, and the Museum holding artifacts from the bath.

Thermo-mineral baths, like these at Aquae Sulis, were not like ordinary bath houses. They were fed by natural hot springs, which were considered to be sacred places, protected by a god or goddess. People came long distances to bathe in their special waters, often seeking a cure for an ailment. They would pray to the guardian deity for help and might make an offering at the temple before bathing in the waters.

Two traditions came together to create the Roman style of bathing. The ancient Greeks had public baths which contained individual baths in rooms heated by charcoal braziers and in their excursus halls there were facilities for cold water showers. The merging of these traditions in the 2nd century BC created an aesthetic and leisurely approach to bathing which was not simply a means of getting clean but also an end itself.

As stated before, hot springs such as the Aquae Sulis is protected by god and goddesses. Specifically, the statues are Roman governors of the province of Britannia, and Roman emperors with particular connections to Britain. The figures surrounding the bath are Julius Caesar, Emperor Claudius, Emperor Vespasian, Governor Ostorius Scapula, Governor Suetonius Paulinus, Governor Julius Agricola, Head of Roma, Emperor Hadrian, and Constantine the Great.

 This was at the front of the Temple of Silis Minerva and was supported by four massive columns. It looked down on visitors in the Temple Courtyard from a height of 15 meters. Its powerful imagery in the stone carving dominated the scene.

 The picture to the left is of the Sacred Spring overflow, in which surplus water from the Spring pours into a Roman drain and flows on to the river.

Learning about the Roman Baths in class did not give us the full effect, however finally seeing the ancient architecture and craftsmanship gave us a whole new appreciation for this Wonder of the World.