(Brochure picture - it was gray and cold when we were there.) |
Archaeological excavations have revealed that
the human use of the hot mineral springs at Bath began at least 10,000
years ago and have continued to the present times.
 The Roman Baths
in Bath, England. "In
the city of Bath is ... a Bath House that was held in high esteem in the Roman world.
... It is fed today, as it was 2,000
years ago, by natural springs of hot water buried deep beneath the
bustling modern day city that is now Bath. ... This was where everyone from Roman
military generals to shopkeepers could mingle freely and converse, play
games and relax." ... "All would
come: infants and elderly, men and women, healthy and ill, freemen and
slaves, all of whom often bathed naked and together."
It was a lot bigger and more complex than I had expected.
About Roman baths:
"Welcome to the
companion Web site to the [PBS] NOVA program `Roman Bath,' originally
broadcast on February 22, 2000. In the film ... an international crew of
archeologists, engineers, and historians designs, builds, and tests a
functioning Roman bath in the Turkish countryside." Many reconstructions
and illuminating commentary.
The
baths in Bath were still in public use in Jane
Austen's time (early 1800's) and even later in the 19th century.
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