The famous Roman Baths

The baths at Bath were unusual not just for their size, but also for the fact that they used so much hot water. Roman bathing was based around the practice of moving through a series of heated rooms culminating in a cold plunge at the end. This sequence might include an opportunity to luxuriate in a hot tub or a small bath of hot water in the calcium  but it did not normally involve swimming around in a great hot swimming pool such as the Great Bath.

Great Bath

The Great Bath was the centre piece of the Roman bathing establishment. It was fed with hot water directly from the Sacred Spring and provided a luxurious warm swim. The bath is lined with 45 thick sheets of lead and is 1.6 metres deep. Access is by four steep steps that entirely surround it. Originally roofed with a pitched timber construction, this was replaced in the 2nd century with a much heavier ceramic vault that required strengthened pillars to support it. The result was that the original slender pillars were thickened and projected into the bath itself.

The famous Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in Somerset. The house is a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing. It’s a reconstruction of the previously destroyed baths. It was destroyed in the 6th century, reconstruction of the baths occurred over time with the last additions being done in the late 1800s.

The Baths are a major tourist attraction and, receive more than one million visitors a year. It was featured on the 2005 TV program Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the West Country. Visitors can see the Baths and Museum but cannot enter the water.