Bath: The Roman Baths

When one thinks of Bath, England most are aware that it is a city that has a history, but aren't quite sure what it is. 

One reason it is fairly notable is that the entire city has been built out of stone that was quarried from a local limestone formation that is unique. 

It contains a high level of iron in the limestone which lends the yellow to orange tint to the buildings facades.  It made the town look as though the town had soaked up the warmth and hue of the sun.

The other reason for the city to retain some claim to fame is that England has only one hot spot in the entire country and it is coincidentally located in Bath.  The Romans utilized its hot springs and established Bath's first spa resort in approximately AD 43.  

The Roman Baths themselves are below the modern street level. There are four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House and the Museum holding finds from Roman Bath. The buildings above street level date from the 19th century.

Some of the finds that have been excavated from the baths include About 130 curse tablets have been found. Many of the curses related to thefts of clothes whilst the victim was bathing.

I find it humorous that even back then people would tell others off that had done them wrong by trying to cast a curse upon them.  There are also other offerings presumably given to the goddess of the spring that include a large number of Roman coins (approx. 12,000). 

I really enjoyed walking through the museum and seeing the baths in person.  It really lent authenticity and reality to what we had learned and studied about previous to visiting.  Admittance fees was six pounds but that also includes access to the audio that has information on just about everything in the museum.  I thought it was well worth the time and expense.

As of now I haven't mentioned anything related to literature, so here it is.  Bath was a popular location for the locals and not so locals to frequent when they were looking for a place to expend time and find entertainments, amusements and physical treatments.  The rich, including the Queen were likely to come and avail themselves of what was deemed as curative waters. 

Jane Austen is one such literary author that both visited and wrote about the city.  In Northanger Abbey, her heroine Catherine Morland visited and said about Bath "If adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad."  In fact, because of Jane's familiarity with Bath, two of her novels are largely based in and around Bath.  Those novels are Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. 

I've read both novels and was very interested to see and find sites from the book in the environ that I was able to visit.  Unfortunately, I was not able to visit the museum that is dedicated to Jane Austen in Bath, but was told that it is well worth the time if one is interested in the author and her life there in Bath.