Day 11 - Bath - The Roman Baths on Tuesday, May 14th, 2013

The Romans amaze me!  During our visits to Vindolanda and Bath, we found extensive, well preserved Roman ruins.  Both featured incredible baths.  Not just the type we have in our homes.  Their baths were complex, including hot (Caldarium), warm (Tepidarium) and cold (Frigidarium) baths.  The floors of the Caldarium were heated by hot air flowing underneath the floor supported by a structure called a "Hypocaust."

We visited the Roman Baths in Bath, England.  The baths are fed by hot springs.  The first structure was built by the Celts as a temple dedicated to the goddess Sulis.  The Romans built their temple between 60 AD and 70 AD.  The bath complex was built over the next 300 years.

The baths were lost by the 6th century due to flooding and silting. In the 12th and 16th centuries, new structures were built around the springs.  The baths became popular again the 18th century when it was claimed that the baths cured King Bladud and his herd of pigs of leprosy.

To learn more about the Roman Baths, visit the The Roman Baths website and the Wiki.

The Roman Baths from Abbey Square

Reception Hall Dome

Built in the Victorian times (1800's).

Statue on the Terrace

There are several on the terrace.  They are coated with a sacrificial layer of plaster which is then eaten away by acid rain.

The Great Bath with Bath Abbey in the background from the Terrace

The temperature of the water is 114.8F.  The hot water flows in from the spring at a rate of 309,081 US gallons per day. 

Costumed Actors Posing For Photographs

Model

The Gorgon's Head On The Temple Pediment

Sculpture

Arch In The Sacred Spring

Spring Overflow

Incoming Hot Water

Archaeologists

Fragment From A "Roof Spline"

Ghosts Bathing In The Circular Bath

Roman Lead Pipe

Sacred Spring

Caldarium Hypocaust

The floor rested on top of these pylons.  Hot air was circulated between the pylons to heat the floor, thus heating the room.