Roman Baths (Bath)

The Roman Baths in Bath are the remains of an ancient Roman bathing and religious complex in Somerset, England, built around the first century AD around natural thermal springs. The site preserves a paved forecourt, the Great Bath and associated temple precinct once dedicated to Sulis Minerva.

Visitors tour the excavated baths, view the preserved pool and see artifacts and inscriptions in the museum that illustrate Roman ritual and urban life at Aquae Sulis. The visitor route includes the Great Bath, the bathing chambers and a museum display of objects recovered from the site.

The baths were constructed by the Romans in the first century AD to harness the hot springs, and the complex remained important through the Roman period; later centuries saw changes to the site, followed by archaeological excavation and conservation beginning in the 19th century. The city of Bath and the Roman Baths are part of a later urban fabric recognised for its historic and architectural value.

The Roman Baths are in the centre of the city of Bath in southwest England, built around a naturally occurring thermal spring and surrounded by Georgian streets and buildings that form the city’s historic core.

• Spring temperature: The thermal spring at the site emerges at about 46 degrees Celsius at source and supplies the Great Bath, which is kept filled but not used for public bathing.

What to See #

• Great Bath: The Great Bath, a rectangular pool lined with lead and stone and fed by a thermal spring, forming the centrepiece of the Roman bathing complex.
• Temple of Sulis Minerva and museum: The Roman temple precinct and museum galleries that display artifacts excavated from the site, including altars, coins and inscriptions linked to the cult of Sulis Minerva.