Bath

A site of hot mineral springs (120 F [49 C]) which attracted the Romans after their invasion of Britain, who founded Bath as Aquae Sulis, dedicated to the deity Sul (Minerva). From the late 1st century AD onwards the springs became the center for a complex of lavish monumental buildings. These include the Temple of Sulis Minerva and an extensive collection of baths, the most notable being the vaulted Great Bath.

[Aquae Sulis]. The emergence from the ground of natural hot springs at a temperature of 120°F attracted the bath-loving Romans here after their invasion of Britain. The springs were sacred to the local goddess Sulis (equated by the Romans with Minerva), hence the Roman name Aquae Sulis [Waters of Sulis]. From the late 1st century ad onwards the springs became the centre for a complex of monumental buildings unparalleled for their lavish extent and sophistication elsewhere in Roman Britain. These include the Temple of Sulis Minerva with Corinthian pilasters and a medusa-head relief on the pediment, and an extensive collection of baths, the most notable being the vaulted Great Bath, originally over 17 metres high.