Ore-some Metalwork

The Roman Baths collection is full of amazing metalwork. In Roman and Iron Age Britain, lead, tin, copper and iron were mined and used for everything from tools to religious items.

Investigating an Iron Age coin at the Roman Baths

Imperial lead from the nearby Mendip Hills had several different uses at the Roman Baths. This malleable, waterproof metal was frequently used for plumbing — a word which actually comes from the Latin for lead: plumbum. Even now, the floor of the Great Bath is lined with Roman lead, which is still watertight after two thousand years!

The lead lining of the Great Bath

Lead could also be alloyed with tin (mined in Cornwall) to make pewter. Over 100 pewter curse tablets have been discovered at the Roman Baths, written and thrown into the Sacred Spring by victims of theft asking Sulis Minerva to punish the culprit. Pewter food and drink vessels were also tossed into the Spring as tribute for the goddess. Although these had a religious purpose, the Romans also stored wine in lead alloy vessels like these because it gave the wine a sweeter taste!

Roman pewter vessel discovered in the Spring

One of the curses is made from tin alone, and is an unusual circular shape. Perhaps it was once worn as a pendant before being thrown into the Spring, inscribed with a list of Celtic names.

Tin could also be alloyed with copper to make bronze. Copper was mined in Derbyshire and the Lake District. Since copper products are attractive and resistant to erosion, copper alloys were often used for delicate decorative items. My favourite example is the tiny bronze eagle figurine, once possibly attached to a vessel.

Copper alloy Roman eagle figurine 

Bronze and silver were used for coinage both before and after the Roman invasion of Britain. Iron Age coins were usually inscribed with pellets, crescents and lines, often making up the image of a head or triple-tailed horse. The Romans sometimes used orichalcum — an alloy of copper and zinc — in their coinage, too.

Iron Age coin showing stylised face on obverse and horse on reverse

Less attractive than copper, iron was used for more practical purposes. Iron ox shoes have been discovered in the farmlands north of Bath, and iron styluses were used for writing on wax tablets. Iron was mined in the wooded areas of the Forest of Dean and the Weald, where trees provided fuel for the charcoal smelting facilities.

Roman iron axe

Unfortunately, the acids and residues on our fingers cause metals to corrode, so they usually can’t be handled! However, we can still admire this ore-some metalwork from afar.

Ellie

Collections Volunteer

Civilisations: A Display of Belief

'Civilisations’ is a new series on BBC 2 spanning 31 countries and looking at humanity’s desire to create. Each episode covers a different theme, ranging from how people in the past depicted themselves through art, to how different faiths are represented through art and objects.

The Belief display case

As part of the Civilisations festival, I put together a display case in the Sun Lounge based on belief systems in past societies and how they are represented through the objects in our collection. I wanted to try and represent as many different countries across the world using interesting objects, just like the Civilisations programme.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘belief’ as the trust, faith, or confidence in someone or something.

Replica Iron Age spoons

I chose to display the Iron Age spoons as they are somewhat of a mystery, but incredibly interesting. They are made in a style unique to Britain and Ireland, formed from a single sheet of metal, with one spoon bearing a large cross and the other a small hole on the right side. Liquid may have been poured onto one spoon and dripped through the hole onto the other spoon during rituals. Little is known about belief systems in the Iron Age, but it is believed that a lot of the ritual practices revolved around offerings and sacrifices to the gods.

One of my favourite aspects of the display case is the two images of Haile Selassie at The Roman Baths in 1936. Haile Selassie was Ethiopia’s Emperor from 1930-1974. He was worshipped as god incarnate among followers of the Rastafari movement which developed in the 1930’s.

Haile Selassie visiting the Roman Baths in 1936

Rastafarians believe that they are the chosen people of God, but that colonisation and the slave trade has led to their role being supressed. Haile Selassie was not part of the religion himself but people still believed him to be god incarnate. They believe in the ritual inhalation of marijuana and the religious ceremonies consist of chanting, drumming and meditating in order to increase their spiritual awareness and reach a state of heightened spirituality.

There are many other interesting and important artefacts from our collection which represent different belief systems in past civilisations. If you want to find out more, you can see this display for free in the Sun Lounge!

Dulcie

Collections Intern

Tuesday Times Tables: The Idyllic Iron Age

When the Romans invaded Britain they found a country divided into tribal territories, some of which offered staunch resistance to the Roman advance. But this was not always the case. The Dobunni, who controlled the Cotswolds and northern Somerset, capitulated to the Romans and may have even surrendered before the army entered the South West. The goddess Sulis-Minerva, who was worshipped at the Temple in Bath, was a combination of Roman and British mythology and may have been a Roman tribute to the peaceful locals.

Bath has a relatively high concentration of nearby Iron Age hillforts, defensive structures that dominate the skyline, and yet remarkably few weapons, limited to a handful of iron spearheads. Instead, the artefacts that we have found in the area are more suggestive of a peaceful and pastoral landscape. The hillforts perhaps acted as meeting places or food distribution centres, with the lower slopes covered with cultivated fields and farmsteads.

The ramparts of Little Solsbury Hillfort

Carbonised grains of Emmer wheat, an early form of domesticated wheat and very important in Iron Age life, was found in a hearth in the Little Solsbury hillfort. The wheat could be made into porridge, and sherds of the courseware pots it was cooked in have also been found.

There are also indications of cloth making. Spindle whorls made of stone and bone were used to spin the fleece of local sheep into yarn. A large lump of Bath limestone with a hole drilled through it was used to weigh down threads on a loom to create woollen textiles. A fine bone pin would push the weft threads together to create a tighter concentration and a finer cloth.

Iron Age coin showing horse and wheel on reverse (BATRM1980.316)

 The archaeology around Bath shows there was a preoccupation with ritual and belief. Two bronze spoons were deposited in a stream in Weston. They are decorated with beautiful curvilinear designs. Pairs of spoons like these are found infrequently across Britain and always in ritual contexts, in water or burials. Coins like the one pictured were discovered in the Sacred Spring at the Roman Baths, and indicate the importance of the waters before the arrival of the Romans. Many were minted by the local Dobunni tribe, but others were from the tribe south of Bath and may show tribal interactions were good-natured in the area.

These artefacts were brought out for visitors to investigate Iron Age Bath as a landscape of domesticity and mystery as part of our programme of Tuesday Times Tables, so join us next week to find out how they continue!

Jim

Volunteer