Veni Vidi Vici

Just an hour and half outside of London is the idyllic town of Bath which was also a Roman settlement, a perfect day trip.

Walking from the train stop, I saw old red phone boxes that had been filled with flowers! Instead of grabbing lunch, I opted for a quick and easy dark chocolate truffle donut with a coffee. This allowed me to quickly get going to explore the beautiful city. The Holburne Museum has a garden that I enjoyed walking through. There was also a lovely park that has been popular since Jane Austen’s time. Speaking of Austen, a house of hers is in Bath and has been turned into a museum; she also included the city as a location in a couple of her novels. There is also a Mary Shelley Museum in the town. Both of these sounded interesting but I was just enchanted with aesthetically pleasing outdoors. I love that London is a walking city; however, it is a city. It was nice to wander aimlessly around Bath which still felt so in tune with nature. Although Bath is full of museums. Including an American Museum (which I only saw signage for) and the Fashion Museum which is currently closed since it is being relocated. Brittaney and I peeked into an art gallery which housed pieces created by Bob Dylan; I had no idea the musician painted as well. My exploration was also comprised of a liberal amount of photography. Apparently, people blow glass in Bath, so for a souvenir, I bought a blue glass necklace.

All of this wandering led me to the main event: the Roman Baths. The Baths are located next to a large stone church which was built early in the last millennium. It is interesting to see an almost thousand-year-old building next to a partially excavated building that is almost two thousand years old. While I was excited for this historic aspect of our outing, I had no idea how much I would love it. I could have stayed in the Baths for probably a good hour longer making sure to listen to each of the pre-recorded commentary. Yes! The Roman Baths had complimentary commentary provided on phone-esque devices. Looking down on the main pool the British have placed the statues of eight Roman men who were connected to Britain. These were put in place in the late eighteenth century. The balcony which overlooks this main bath is a purely British creation to help visitors get the best view. Today, the water of the main pool is green from algae infestation. However, when the Romans build the baths, they were covered with a twenty-meter high roof so the water was protected from the elements, particularly the sun.

In the third century (AD), Solinus wrote: In Britain are hot springs adorned with sumptuous splendour for the use of mortals Minerva is patron goddess of these.

To help contextualize the importance of the baths to the Roman society, there were models of the other structures that must have been in the area. Throughout the exhibit portion, were Roman artifacts. There were fragments of the temple pediment displayed along with a mostly complete column. The part of the exhibit I found the most interesting were the gravestones. Latin inscriptions were carefully carved into the stone, and I took time to try and translate them before reading how the experts have chosen to translate them. The only reason I even had the knowledge to understand the abbreviations used is because epigraphy was incorporated into my Latin 1003 class. It was so cool to get to use this knowledge since my professor from that class, Dr. Rhodora Vennarucci, wrote me the recommendation that helped get me here to England.

Off of the main baths were additional sections that were more truly the excavation of the Roman architecture. There was a swimming bath (natation), a hot room (caldarium), immersion pool (balneum), and laconicum.

“They came, they conquered and their lasting effect on Britain is still visible to this day,” Penelope Rance, a British destination and historical author, noted for Britain Magazine. It was incredible to really see such a large visible reminder of the Roman presence in the UK. Seeing the Roman remains at Bath felt like something I had been preparing my whole life for between a classical education and love of the UK.

I am so glad I got to spend the day in this town!