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January 13, 2026

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Go behind the scenes at the Roman Baths with stories from our collections by our volunteers and student placements.

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The Baths Bloggers: We are the volunteers, interns and employees of the Roman Baths. We started this blog to provide you with a behind the scenes glimpse of what goes on here at the Roman Baths. We will be writing about what is interesting and important to us from collections to activities and events.

Popular Posts

A Gorgon's Head?

Gorgon's Head? I have puzzled over an alternative interpretation as to who/what the image in the centre of the Temple Pediment really is. I am sure that the character who dominates the centre is almost certainly not a Gorgon. For starters it’s a male; the only male Gorgon is Nanas (guardian of Zeus) who would have no relation to this site. Most importantly though, where are the snakes!? I see some thick wisps of beard but certainly no snakes. So who is this character? The obvious choice for me is Neptune, not only does the aged bearded face resemble him but he is the God of water. The Romans had no natural explanation for hot springs such as those found at Bath, so to turn to a supernatural source for worship was not uncommon and here the deity of water makes perfect sense. Artist illustration of Temple Pediment If you look carefully you will see nestled in the corner of the pediment are Tritons; half men half fish creatures who were the servants of Neptune. If this ima...

Roman Curse Tablets: Inscriptions and Literacy

Over 130 curse tablets have been discovered in the Sacred Roman Spring at Bath and this summer I had the opportunity to work with the museum’s collection team on the Curses Project and handle some of these fascinating objects. Emily and Kate, placement students, handling the curse tablets. What are curse tablets? Curse tablets were a common feature throughout the Greco-Roman world and were an outlet for people to air their anxieties and grievances. They are small sheets of metal, often lead, which contain inscriptions appealing to a deity to cast influence or revenge on another individual. They were usually deposited at religious sites and were often buried or thrown into water so the unique natural hot spring at Bath would have been the ideal location for this ritual. Most of the legible curse tablets at Bath address the goddess Sulis Minerva and relate to the theft of an object. Curse tablets on display at the Roman Baths museum. What can they tell us about the Romans? One as...

The Search for an English Pottery

This small fragment is one which was discovered in the yard of No. 4 the Circus, in Bath. It’s pretty exciting, because with a little archaeological detective work we can figure out what this piece once looked like, where it was from, the sort of person who may have owned it, and when it was made. Even with the little detail, we can discover a lot about a piece of pottery! This fragment has a maker’s mark, also known as a backstamp. Potters put a lot of time and energy into making their designs, and so they wouldn’t want for anyone to be able to rip off their patterns. By registering and patenting their designs, they could be legally protected if anyone else tried to use it without their permission. The marks helped to show who owned the design and when it was registered. Staffordshire potters have marked their wares since at least the 1790’s. This has the name of the maker, a pattern name and a registration number – all of these give us information. The Swinnertons were a co...

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