Aquae Sulis facts for kids
Aquae Sulis was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia. Its name means "Waters of Sulis" in Latin. Today, this ancient town is known as the city of Bath, Somerset in England. Roman records from long ago, like the Antonine Itinerary, called it Aquis Sulis. Another writer, Ptolemy, called it Aquae calidae (warm waters) in his book Geographia.
Contents
Building the Roman Town
Baths and Temple Complex
The Romans likely started building a proper temple and bath complex at Aquae Sulis around the AD 60s. They had arrived in Britain in AD 43. Evidence suggests their military road, the Fosse Way, crossed the River Avon right at Bath.
The Romans were drawn to a large natural hot spring. This spring was already a special place for the Celtic people called Brythons. They worshipped their goddess Sulis there. This unique hot mineral spring is the only one of its kind in Britain. The Romans connected Sulis with their own goddess, Minerva. This helped the Celts get used to Roman culture.
The spring became a huge Roman Baths complex with a temple next to it. Archaeologists have found about 130 special messages called curse tablets (defixiones) in the Sacred Spring. These were often written on lead. Most were in Latin, but one was in Brythonic, the language of the Celts. People wrote these messages to ask the goddess to punish those who had wronged them. This collection is very important for understanding Roman Britain.
The Brythonic curse found on a metal pendant is the only full sentence ever discovered in that language. It roughly means:
I have bound the people: Deuina, Deieda, Andagin, and Uindiorix.
Another idea is:
Oh divine Deieda, may I, Windiorix, bring to justice the woman at Cuamena.
These translations are still being studied by experts.
A Roman writer named Gaius Julius Solinus wrote about these springs. He said that Minerva was the goddess of these springs. He also mentioned that the temple had fires that never turned to ash.
Walled Town
The religious area, with its baths and temple, was given strong stone walls. This probably happened in the 3rd century. The walled area was about 23 acres. At first, much of it was open ground, but it soon filled with buildings. Experts still discuss if these buildings were homes or places for pilgrims visiting the temple. There were also some buildings and cemeteries outside the walls, along the northern road.
Decline of Aquae Sulis
From the late 3rd century onwards, the Western Roman Empire began to weaken. Life in Roman towns changed. While the grand baths fell into disrepair, people still used the hot springs. After the end of Roman rule in Britain around AD 410, some residents stayed. However, the area became less peaceful.
Some historians believe the famous Arthurian Battle of Mons Badonicus (around AD 500) might have happened near Aquae Sulis.
Medieval Legends
In the Middle Ages, the Roman temple at Bath became part of British legends. People said that the legendary King Bladud had dedicated the hot springs to Minerva. They also believed the temple had an eternal flame.
An old poem from the 8th century, called The Ruin, describes a Roman hot-water spring that had fallen apart. Many believe this poem is about Aquae Sulis. The poem was saved in a book called the Exeter Book for future generations.
What Remains Today
People started rediscovering the Roman remains of Bath in the 18th century. Today, these remains are one of Bath's main attractions. You can see most of them at the Roman Baths Museum, which has:
- Many items found from the Baths and the Roman town. There is a great collection of stone sculptures.
- The excavated parts of the main temple courtyard.
- The Roman Baths themselves. Some parts are under later stonework from the 1700s. The original Roman Great Bath is still there, lined with lead, and filled by the sacred spring through Roman lead pipes.
- A huge collection of 30,000 silver coins. This was found in 2012 during an archaeological dig near the Roman baths. It is one of the largest coin hoards ever found in Britain. The coins are thought to be from the 3rd century.
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