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Roman Baths

What is it?

The Roman Baths complex houses the Great Bath - "one of the most dramatic monuments of Roman Britain" [Forsyth 2003], further baths to the east and west and the partly excavated Temple area to the north under the Pump Room.

Where is it in Bath?

There are two plaques on the York Street end of the Roman Baths complex in the centre of Bath.

Plaque 1

The older plaque is in the form of a carved tablet:
Location of plaque 1 at Roman Baths

Note the arch spanning the road which conceals a pipe that was used to supply hot spa water to the nearby laundry.

Roman Baths plaque 1

The text on plaque 1 reads

"Ariston Men Idor

These Hot Springs were used by the Romans as early as the first century

In Area . In Gradeur . In Completeness .

The baths of Aquae Sulis were unequalled

The remains of their magnificance are here disclosed"

Plaque 2

The more recent metal plaque is on the corner of York Street and Stall Street:
Location of plaque 2 at Roman Baths

Roman Baths plaque 2

The text on plaque 2 reads

"Twenty feet beneath you stand the remains of the Roman Baths which flourished between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. They were lost beneath the city for hundreds of years and discovered in 1879. This building was erected in 1973, replacing private baths built in the 1880s by Major Charles Davis who excavated the Roman Baths"

Location map of plaques:
Roman Baths plaque location map

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