The Curses Condensed

Curse Tablets

‘Curse tablets’ are inscribed pieces of lead, usually in the form of small, thin sheets, intended to influence by supernatural means, the actions or welfare of persons or animals against their will. At Bath they mostly appeal to the goddess Minerva, although we do have one petition to Mars and another to Mercury.

In nearly all cases, both here and elsewhere, they appear to have been written in response to theft – here, most likely from the adjoining bath-house.

The Roman Baths has 137 curse tablets within the collection. They are described as being lead, but in most cases they have been made of lead alloy and are better described as pewter………

Of those 137…..

29 are written in capitals

80 are written in ‘cursive’, a script used for everyday documents and letters. Of these, 63 are written in Old Roman Cursive ORC and 17 are written in New Roman Cursive NRC (Indirectly NRC is the ancestor of the scripts used for present day handwriting in Europe.)

4 are written in illiterate texts - scratches made to imitate writing, or sometimes with no trace of writing at all.

5 tablets are un-inscribed.

7 tablets are still folded or otherwise illegible.

Between them all there are over 150 names mentioned.

2 are believed to have come from the same sheet of metal.

1 shows evidence of being copied.

1 could possibly have been written by someone with dyslexia.

Some are double sided, some have nail holes, some have been folded and some have not…….

The very writing of curses was manipulated for magical effect. Letters could be written in mirror-image form or the order of letters in a word, the words in a line, or lines in a text might be reversed. They are mostly written as one long continuous text without abbreviations. The writer might also change the direction in which words or letters were written in alternating lines.

Important comparative sites

Caerleon
Uley
Lydney
Brean Down

For a nice compact website on curses in general please follow this link http://curses.csad.ox.ac.uk/beginners/

Helen Harman - Collections Assistant

A Cast of Little People

One of the most interesting aspects of my job recently has been my involvement in the Roman Baths Museum's Development Plan.

4th Century Model

In 2008, I was asked to draw up a "cast list" for the scale model of the site in the 4th century AD. The model maker (the artist Gerry Judah) asked for full descriptions; complexion, hair colour, stance, and even who each person was interacting with, even though the people were only ...mm high..

I tried to include many ordinary people in it; different ages, colours, fashions, visitors and workers. Local Aquae Sulis residents, like modern day Bathonians, familiar with the amazing buildings and seeing the baths just as a place to go on a wet afternoon. But to the foreign visitors, looking around at the colourful buildings, they were very Roman though so far from Rome, and with a twist of local interpretation.

Temple and Temple Courtyard 4th Century Model

If you look carefully you'll find children are playing behind the temple, in the large open air precinct. A woman with her washing gazes at a religious ceremony walking past.

A lot had to be guesswork. All the evidence of Roman baths and temple, the inscriptions and literary references, tend to be from the Mediterranean, so we don't know whether these were the norm everywhere else. When the nineteenth century excavators dug the baths, they didn't record what they found in each room. As a result, we're not sure whether women were in the east baths or the west, or whether mixed bathing was allowed; the Emperor Hadrian did ban it, but did the Baths manager obey this? How were the rooms lit? 100s of oil lamps or burning torches? Who knows if the staff (or were they slaves?) had uniforms, but we dressed them all in green tunics, so you can find them as they sweep, sell snacks or hand out towels.

West Baths 4th Century Model

In 2009, the model was installed. Apart from one drunk priest, a wayward ball player who fell over and had to be re-glued, and a purple alien who joined the religious procession, all the little people are still there in suspended animation. Next time you visit, take a closer look!

Susan Fox - Collections Manager

It’s All in the Mix

One of the best things about my role is that it is diverse and varied. I often come up against challenges and boy have I just met the newest!

One of the Roman Baths’ unique selling points is that the visitor has the ability to actually walk around and over the original Roman remains. Many people have commented on how this gives them a very personal interaction with the site and the people who used the baths many years ago. But it poses a very big question for the professional: how do we ensure public access is not detrimental to the remains of the Roman structure?

Recently reset piece of paving south east side of the Great Bath

We have a large amount of Roman secondary paving on site and, with general wear and tear, it is inevitable that pieces will become loose. When this happens, the pieces need to be reset – as quickly as possible - to ensure that the original position is not lost. This is not as simple as it seems - the technique of re-fixing the stones is an art.

Tools of the trade - pointing mix

The stones are fixed using a lime-based mortar mix, closely matched to the original Roman recipe in use on the site nearly 2,000 years ago. I have recently taken on the challenge of re-fixing the pieces (under expert supervision of course!). The mortar mix needs air to harden but also a damp environment to make sure this process doesn’t happen too quickly – a fine balancing act. It also needs to be protected for 2-3 weeks to ensure it has hardened both inside and out.

Colour matching the pointing to blend in with the surrounding stones

So if you see a piece of damp sack cloth covering any stone around the Roman Baths and a barrier protecting it, it will be because conservation is taking place- please be patient, we need to do it to ensure that you, the visitor, has the best experience.

If you would like to learn more about lime-based materials http://www.buildingconservation.com/  is a good place to start……

Helen Harman – Collections Assistant

After the trenches are filled…

The Channel Four program Time Team has done wonders to raise the profile of archaeology in Britain. Thanks to Time Team many people now know what an archaeological excavation looks like; indeed some of us may have taken part in an excavation or two!

Excavation of the Sacred Spring 1979

But how many of us know what happens next? What happens after the trenches have been backfilled? How does the archaeology end up in a museum?

Well, it’s rather a long process between excavation and museum storage, excavation is merely the start of a process that often takes years to complete. Once the excavation stage is completed the artefacts have to be cleaned, conserved, analyzed, reported on, published and finally deposited into a museum.

The cleaning, conservation and analysis work of artefacts forms part of what is commonly called post excavation. During post excavation all the significant material is sent to specialists, whose jobs are to look at everything and write reports on what they find. This ranges from working out what an artefact is exactly, how old it is, where it came from and how it was used.

A mix of bone and stone objects

After the specialists have written their reports, and everything that is known about the archaeological site has been written down, all the information is brought together to form one final report. It’s very important that this final report is then published, but why is publishing it so important?

Excavation is a destructive process; once it’s been done you can’t press an undo button and put everything back! So it’s extremely important to publish your findings, even if you didn’t find anything, that way others can learn from it! If you don’t let people know what you found what’s the point of doing the excavation?

Once all the finds have been processed and a final report created the archive (artefacts and records) can be deposited into a museum for permanent storage. Why does everything go to a museum? Well if everything is in a museum, it makes it a lot easier for interested people to find it so they can study it.

So what does this mean for the Roman Baths Museum? Well the Baths happens to be the English Heritage approved repository for archaeological archives in Bath and North East Somerset; this means any archaeological work undertaken in the county will probably end up here.

East Bath Store

So if you are interested, why don’t you come on a tour of our storerooms and see all the archaeology that’s just waiting to be looked at?



Charlotte A

All that Glitters may not be Gold but........

33 carved gemstones (intaglios) were found on site in 1878. Discovered as a group, they were found in the Great Drain, just after the outflow from the Great Bath.

All the intaglios date to the latter half of the first century; most likely the Flavian period. It is unclear if the group was casually lost or given as a votive offering to the goddess Sulis Minerva. The position of discovery means that they could have been lost in the Great Bath or given as an offering into the Scared Spring (both of which expel water into the Great Drain).

The gemstones were probably cut by a continental gem cutter or gemmarius. The Romans wore these cut gemstones set into signet rings. By pressing the image into wax, it created a personal and individual seal for letters. These signet rings would have also been a desirable and fashionable item of jewellery.

Below are four of these beautiful gemstones with accompanying descriptions:

Image depicting a Roman maenad cut into blue surfaced nicolo (quartz). 10.5mm in length.

Roman maenad

Maenads were the female worshippers of the god Bacchus (the god of wine and festivity).This maenad has long hair and a hair band. If you look closely you will see she has animal skin pulled tightly over her left shoulder. This is one of fifteen intaglios found in the collection that come under the subject heading of 'deities and personifications'.


Image depicting a leaping lion cut into a pale yellow cornelian (quartz). 12.5mm in length. 

Leaping lion

This lion engraved intaglio is one of three depicting wild beasts in the collection. During the Roman period images of wild beasts represented the power of natural forces.


Image depicting a discus thrower cut into a deep orange cornelian (quartz). 12mm in length.

Discus thrower

The man cut into this intaglio is a discus thrower on tiptoe with a discus in his left hand and an outstretched right arm. In front of him is a vase containing a palm; this represents the health and success of athletes. This is one of five intaglios found in the collection that come under the subject heading of ‘amusement’.


Image depicting cattle under a tree cut into a dull green/grey chalcedony (quartz). 11mm in length.

Cattle under a tree

Portrayed in profile, these three cows are all facing a tree. Two are standing and one is lying down. Cattle were a popular theme; set to remind people of the peace and tranquillity of the countryside. This is one of six intaglios found in the collection that come under the subject heading of 'countryside'.

For more information and direct references for each stone (as well as a description for the others we hold in the collection) please follow the web link below:

http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/collections.aspx

For a general reference please use the book listed below:

Barry Cunliffe (editor), The Temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath, Volume 2: The Finds from the Sacred Spring (1988), pages 31 to 52.

Helen Harman - Collections Assistant

A Wedding by the Water

This is the part of the day when I most enjoy my job as events manager. I am standing beside the Great Bath, in the early morning stillness, just prior to a civil ceremony. It is 8am and all I can hear is the hot water flowing from the Sacred Spring into the Great Bath and all I can see is the mystical mist rising from the water. In the 2000 year old remains of the Roman bath-house, the flickering torches and rising steam make this place one of the most atmospheric and romantic options for a wedding. In fact, if I were to marry again, I’m sure this would be the place for me!

Although the Great Bath is no longer covered by a roof, you need not worry about the weather as you’ll be under cover from the surrounding terrace above; and even when the rain falls on the naturally hot water, this only adds to the magical atmosphere.

Recently voted the UK’s ‘most seductive building’ in a poll by RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects), the Roman Baths was also dubbed, ‘the place people would most like to take somebody on a date’.

The Great Bath

The registrars’ tables have been positioned beside the Bath, complete with floral decorations, and the first of the guests begin to arrive. The groom follows, along with a flustered looking photographer, anxious for the best shots in such an inspiring venue. At 8.25am, the bride arrives, escorted by three little bridesmaids, and the ceremony begins….

The Roman Baths has been licensed for civil ceremonies since May 2004. 8.30am is the only time that civil ceremonies can be performed (the Roman Baths is open to the public after this time), and is becoming increasingly popular. The Georgian Pump Room, up at ground level, is often used for morning wedding breakfasts and evening wedding receptions, along with the Terrace, overlooking the Great Bath.
For further information please go to www.bathvenues.co.uk Alternatively, if you would like to discuss your ideas or make an appointment to view the venues, please call 01225 477782 or e-mail bath_venues@bathnes.gov.uk . Click on the link for details of our wedding open day on 8th May.

http://www.bathvenues.co.uk

wedding open day link

Please note you will need to book a registrar from the Bath Register office to perform your wedding ceremony. They can be contacted on 01225 4777234 or e-mail

http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/communityandliving/marriages/Pages/default.aspx

A Cast of Little People

One of the most interesting aspects of my job recently has been my involvement in the Roman Baths Museum's Development Plan.
In 2008, I was asked to draw up a "cast list" for the scale model of the site in the 4th century AD. The model maker (the artist Gerry Judah) asked for full descriptions; complexion, hair colour, stance, and even who each person was interacting with, even though the people were only ...mm high..

I tried to include many ordinary people in it; different ages, colours, fashions, visitors and workers. Local Aquae Sulis residents, like modern day Bathonians, familiar with the amazing buildings and seeing the baths just as a place to go on a wet afternoon. But to the foreign visitors, looking around at the colourful buildings, they were very Roman though so far from Rome, and with a twist of local interpretation.

If you look carefully you'll find children are playing behind the temple, in the large open air precinct. A woman with her washing gazes at a religious ceremony walking past.

A lot had to be guesswork. All the evidence of Roman baths and temple, the inscriptions and literary references, tend to be from the Mediterranean, so we don't know whether these were the norm everywhere else. When the nineteenth century excavators dug the baths, they didn't record what they found in each room. As a result, we're not sure whether women were in the east baths or the west, or whether mixed bathing was allowed; the Emperor Hadrian did ban it, but did the Baths manager obey this? How were the rooms lit? 100s of oil lamps or burning torches? Who knows if the staff (or were they slaves?) had uniforms, but we dressed them all in green tunics, so you can find them as they sweep, sell snacks or hand out towels.

In 2009, the model was installed. Apart from one drunk priest, a wayward ball player who fell over and had to be re-glued, and a purple alien who joined the religious procession, all the little people are still there in suspended animation. Next time you visit, take a closer look!

An exhibition? How hard can it be?

Every time Jeremy Clarkson says “how hard can it be?” on Top Gear you can predict the chaos about to unfold, so I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised to discover an exhibition was a lot more challenging than I thought, once I’d made the mistake of saying “how hard can it be?”

As an intern in the Collections Office I get lots of projects to do, and one of these projects was to create a small display on the Romans in Keynsham as part of the “Story of Somerdale” exhibition held at the Cadbury factory in Keynsham during January.

Setting up the display

The project started out easily enough, once I had discovered that Somerdale was the Cadbury factory, where the Roman villa was and where all the artefacts were stored (in Keynsham, oddly enough!). I selected a dozen or so small artefacts, fibula brooches and the like and all was well.

And then it got complicated, you see it turned out the display case available for us to use was a lot bigger than we expected! What I had so far wasn’t going to be enough!

The next two weeks were a hive of activity, more artefacts were selected and the real hard work began, designing and making the display boards! The boards were a real challenge, the information had be accessible to people of all ages and knowledge levels as well as being easy to read and interesting to look at.

Quite a few re-writes and mock-ups later the boards were printed, the artefacts were packed and the labels made. Now was the fun part, setting it all up.

So was it worth it in the end? I think so.

The final product

The exhibition had around 5000 visitors over 5 days and I got lots of really positive feedback for my contribution! The experience was at times extremely frustrating (the display boards) but has given me a new appreciation for the displays in museums. Until you try to make one yourself it’s hard to appreciate how much work goes into a display.

I learnt a lot from this and I’m sure it’ll be much easier in the future!

So next time you visit a museum, why not take a moment to appreciate the hard work that has gone into creating that fantastic display?


Charlotte

Lights, Camera, Action!

Back in November 2010 we were introduced to the very first Illuminate Bath Arts Festival. Parts of Bath (including the Roman Baths and Pump Room) became a canvas for many new works of art, this included some impressive light shows, which I am afraid I missed out on seeing. Looking at the photos in magazines or in leaflets is one thing, but it holds no comparison to seeing the real thing. However I did manage to see a magical light transformation of sorts in Stall Street…..

Christmas lights in Stall Street

So it’s November and it’s the run up to Christmas; it was only a matter of time before the City installed the Christmas lights. A carousel joined the Christmas festivities along with the Christmas market and served to light up Stall Street.

Christmas carousel in Stall Street

In the past I’ve never really explored the city during the Christmas season – I know what you’re thinking at this point; you should get out more……. Now working at the Roman Baths there was no excuse for me to miss out on what I saw. The mixture of the Christmas illuminations with the crazy spinning lights of the carousel, lit up the street at a time of year known for being dark and dreary. It made things feel less like the forests of Pandora in James Cameron’s Avatar and more like the T-rex holding cell escape scene from Jurassic Park.

Bath Christmas lights

It’s funny really; whilst missing out I don’t feel I missed out. I let too many opportunities to see the light displays of Illuminate Bath pass me by. But, on my short journey from the Baths to the Bus Station I was always delighted by the prospect of viewing Bath’s very own little light show. Lesson to be learnt for the next time the Arts Festival is in town - the next time a great opportunity to see new things comes my way, I won’t let it pass me by!

Bath Christmas lights

James

The smallest thing can make the biggest difference

Tucked away in a corner at the entrance to the old Cadbury (formerly Fry’s) factory in Keynsham is a strange little thing. At first glance it looks like nothing more than an odd selection of stones, but take a closer look and what you will see is actually a major part of the archaeology of Keynsham.

Somerdale villa layout

These stones are actually the reconstructed remains of a Roman villa, the Somerdale villa to give it its proper name. This small villa along with two stone coffins was discovered in 1922 during construction of the factory. This discovery not only brought to light the archaeological potential of the factory site, but raised interest in another set of Roman remains inside the cemetery at Durley Hill.

The villa in the cemetery was slowly being destroyed by grave digging; however the discovery of Somerdale villa raised enough interest for an excavation of both villas. The excavation was carried out between 1922 and 1924 under the supervision of Dr Arthur Bulleid and Father Ethelbert Horne, largely funded by Fry’s who also paid around £600 to lift the mosaics.

After the excavation the foundations of Somerdale villa were moved to the entrance of the factory, where despite currently being fenced off they are still visible today. The mosaic panels, coffins and many other artefacts from the villas were displayed in what was known as Somerdale museum for around 60 years before its closure in 1988. Everything from the museum was then put into storage in Keynsham Town Hall, where they still remain.

Very little is actually known about Somerdale villa as unfortunately its excavation was not well documented.

So why is this little villa that hasn’t been well recorded and isn’t even in its original location anymore so important to Keynsham? Well if it hadn’t been discovered there is a great possibility that the cemetery villa might never have been excavated and the beautiful mosaics (already badly damaged at the time of the excavation) could easily have been completely destroyed. This little villa played a huge role not only in the history of the Cadbury/Fry’s factory but in the long term preservation of some truly beautiful archaeology that may otherwise have been lost.

Unfortunately now the factory has been closed and the future of the villa is uncertain, which I feel really is a sad ending for something that played a defining role in protecting the heritage of Keynsham.

So next time you are in Keynsham, why not pay the villa a visit?



Charlotte

“Beware the Ides of March”

When you’re in a building complex as old as the Roman Baths, strange things are bound to happen.

One day, some time back in the 1980s Julius Caesar went for a dip in the Great Bath.

And no, it was not the ghost of Julius Caesar, it was a statue of the Roman dictator. The statue was carved by G. A. Lawson in the late Victorian period and stood along side Lawson’s other works on the terrace overlooking the Great Bath.

Legend has it that a visitor asked a staff member, “What happened to Julius Caesar?”

“He was assassinated,” replied the staff member, matter-of-factly.

And then they saw him: Julius Caesar’s torso in the green pool. A sight complimented by the empty pedestal on the terrace. One wonders if upon witnessing this site staff thought to themselves “Tis very like: he has the falling sickness” and giggled a little. (Julius Caesar 1.2.256)

With Cimbe, Casca and Brutus no where in sight, staff decided some mischievous youths must have climbed over the terrace late at night and accidentaly pushed Caesar into the waters. Laurence Tindall was commissioned to carve a new Julius Caesar and all the statues, including the new one, were permanently fixed to their bases. No more diving emperors at the Roman Baths.

The pieces of the Victorian Caesar are in storage at the Roman Baths.  His head and foot are on display for the Store Tours and Tunnel Tours.


Joanna

Mineral Water

The water that fills the Great Bath is around 10,000 years old. It fell as rain water on the Mendip Hills, 15 miles to the south of Bath, when Mesolithic people were using the natural hot spring, bubbling out of a woodland area in 7500 BC.

The water flows underground from the hills along a fault line called the ‘Penny Quick Fault’ and collects in an underground lake, 2 miles down. The water in the lake gets heated to around 90 degrees C by the earth's core. A tremendous amount of pressure builds up in the lake forcing the water up through a large fissure in the rock allowing it to bubble up to the surface.

The Romans built a reservoir to contain this hot water. By the time the water has travelled the 2 miles up to the surface it has cooled down to 46 degrees C, that’s still about 10 degrees C hotter than a comfortable bath or shower.

After the water had collected in the reservoir the water would have been directed to a number of pools. Today the water only flows into the Great Bath or out of the Great Drain down to the River Avon. Thirteen litres of water flow into the Great Bath every second. This means that you could fill your bath at home in approximately 6 seconds! The temperature of the water in the Great Bath is 36 degrees C, just the right temperature for a bath.

Point where the water flows into the Great Bath

As well as being hot, the water picks up 43 kinds of metals and minerals in the ground. The largest concentrations of minerals are calcium and sulphate. The water is low in dissolved metals except for iron, which causes an orange staining around many parts of the pools.

Iron staining on the inflow channel to the Great Bath

If you have seen the Great Bath you can’t help but notice that the water is a lovely green colour today. When the water comes up from the ground it is colourless, the green hue is from the algae growing on the surface of the water, caused by its heat and daylight. When the Romans were using the Great Bath it was covered by a roof, eliminating direct sunlight, this stopped algae from growing. Unlike today, you could have seen the bottom of the Great Bath.

The green water of the Great Bath

Posted by Laura (Visitor Services Assistant)

A Monument in the Mist.

The number one question I get asked as I am walking around the site is, “what is the liquid you are spraying over the stones?”

Humidification system in action - Temple Precinct

Answer = The liquid is plain old tap water and it’s not being sprayed over the stones but into the atmosphere.

Next question = Why?

Answer = To prevent salt crystal growth which can cause stones to break where cracks exist and ceramic building material to breakdown.

Salt crystal growth - Temple Precinct

Next question = What is salt crystal growth?

Answer = Salts are contained within the stone and they expand as stone dries out, causing the weaker surrounding material to be pushed out. In a fluctuating environment the processes of dilution/absorption and concentration/expansion causes the stone to crack and clay to break down. Salt damage results largely from the growth of salt crystals within a porous structure. A broad variety of damage features—from granular disintegration to flaking and scaling. The water spray is keeping the environment stable i.e. constantly damp and aims to stop this process from happening.

Question = Why not just remove the salts?

Answer = Unfortunately due to the nature of the site, salts are constantly going to be present. The salts are present in the underlying soil fed by the natural spring water which is very rich in metals, salts and minerals and are drawn up by the stone and ceramic building material.

Pillars made from ceramic bricks - West Baths

Most people walk away very happy after this discussion= job done!

Can you think of any more monument conservation questions you might like to ask?

For a good place to start if you would like learn more about salt crystal growth follow the link below
http://www.getty.edu/conservation/science/salt/salt_publications.html

Helen Harman - Collection Assistant

Remembering Bath Abbey Vaults.

I’ve only ever visited Bath Abbey and its vaults on two occasions. The first time I was in absolute awe at both above and below ground; but I didn’t think to have my camera with me…….. Yes, I am that stupid. Fortunately the opportunity to return to visit; this time with my camera at the ready.


Bath Abbey Vaults

I have recently received the news that the museum held within the vaults is closed for redevelopment. Whether or not it will reopen is currently hanging in the balance. Personally I think permanent closure of the Vaults Museum is unthinkable.

Stone Cross - Bath Abbey Vaults

Many people spend so much time contemplating the sites they see, but they very rarely stop to think about what goes on behind or, in this case, underneath it all. Take the Roman Baths for example, the Great Bath and the head of Minerva are on most tourists ‘must see’ list but they too were once buried underground waiting to be discovered. It makes you think; How would they have looked standing new and proud, before nature took over?

Bath Abbey Vaults

Okay, so the vaults may not be the equivalent of a vast underground civilisation but, people remember small details too. I think back to the Lord of Rings film adaptation; I remember the dwarven city underneath the Mines of Moria and Sam’s words “Now there’s an eye opener, make no mistake.”


Then there is Balin’s Tomb and the skeleton that Pippin accidentally knocked into the well……. You only have to look at the photo’s I have uploaded for this blog to see what amazing artefacts were on display.

Medieval tiles - Bath Abbey Vaults

Again, I don’t know whether the vaults will remain closed permanently, but I hope not. These artefacts were on display for a reason; to be preserved, admired, to educate and not to be locked away and forgotten.



James

Hot Dates.

Here at the Roman Baths visitors and staff have been enjoying a hot stuffed date beside the Great Bath to celebrate New Years Day on January 1st. The eating of dates was a Roman tradition to celebrate the coming of a new year.

Rosa and Flavia enjoying their hot dates

In 45BC Julius Caesar reformed the Roman calendar, creating a new month, January. January is named after and was originally dedicated to the two-faced Roman god, Janus. Janus looked both backwards to the old year and forwards to the New Year ahead. The first of January became a day of celebration, gifts and vows. It also became a day where you could only say good things.

Part of the day’s celebrations was to eat hot, stuffed and peppered dates. The recipe that we used to prepare our dates comes from the Roman cook Apicius. Apicius has left us the most comprehensive guide to Roman cuisine. He lived during the 1st Century AD but his recipes were not collated into one book until the late 4th Century AD. This has led some people to believe that the cookbook attributed Apicius is in fact written by more than one person but under the same name.

Some of the recipes in his cookbook include, Milk-Fed Snails, Stuffed Hare, Hot Lamb Stew and Julian Pottage, which required, among other things, two cooked brains! The recipe for our stuffed dates can be found below.


Hot Dates Ingredients –


6 dates per person

Shelled and finely sliced almonds

3 tablespoons honey



To Prepare –

Stone the dates and stuff with the nuts. Heat the honey in a frying pan and fry the dates briskly then serve.

Hot Dates

For a more authentic Roman experience, add a little pepper to the almonds and roll the dates in a pinch of salt before frying in the honey.

Enjoy and Felix Anno Novo!


Laura

Snails from the Great Bath

For hundreds of years the steaming waters of the Great Bath were enjoyed by human bathers. Now the warm water is home to several species of organism. Not only the Cyanobacteria (Blue-Green Algae) that give the water its green colour, but also, more surprisingly, snails. Not the large edible snails introduced by the Romans, but small fresh-water snails.

Physella acuta around the edge of the Great Bath

These tough little snails (Physella acuta) survive the warmth (up to 39°C, warmer than our body temperature) and the cleaning: several times a year our Staff empty the Bath and sweep the algae – and the snails – down into the Roman Drain that empties into the River Avon.

Physella acuta shell

The snails are not obvious, the biggest are only 11mm long, but many congregate at the edge of the water and in the splash zone, where it is still damp but cooler. Often they can be seen crawling on the top step of the Bath in water at 37-38°C, feeding on the algae: they rasp the surface and “hoover” up anything in their path, using a tooth-covered tongue-like radula.


This species is thought to have originated in North America, in the Carolinas, and in the last 200 years they have spread to 6 continents. How the snails arrived in the Great Bath we do not know. Darwin wrote of fresh-water snails being spread to new ponds on the feet of birds. Although mallard ducks (Anas platyrhynchos), visit the Great Bath yearly, I think it is more likely they have been introduced by human agency.


1890s photograph of water lillies in the Great Bath

Photographs of the Great Bath in the 1890s show water lilies in the water of the Bath and if these were a warm water species introduced from North America, then the snails could have been on those plants.

Native British fresh-water snails are no longer found in the Great Bath, although after the Romans left, Lymnaea truncatula and Planorbis albus thrived in the marshy ruins of the Roman buildings. Physella acuta survive because they can live at temperatures up to 40°C, and because they breed rapidly. Only 6 weeks after hatching, an individual can start to lay eggs of its own. Like other snails, they are hermaphrodite, i.e. each individual produces both sperm and eggs. Usually 2 individuals copulate and exchange sperm, but a single individual can fertilise its own eggs. So just one snail, surviving the cleaning process, could, in theory, repopulate the whole Great Bath.

The snails were featured on television in The One Show in October 2009.

Next time you visit the Roman Baths, see if you can spot the snails – but do not fall in!

It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it.

Anyone remember that episode of the Simpsons where Lisa and Marge travel to the beach hoping to wash animals but end up cleaning rocks? That’s not as boring as they made it out to be. Cleaning finds is rather like how Forest Gump described life; “like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get”.

I’ve only been tasked with cleaning finds twice during my time here. The first time was mainly focused on bricks. They may’ve been all the same in the end but I did like the thought of uncovering a standout among a pile of similarities; even though the best I could find in the end was two brick remains sealed together with mortar.

Worked stone



Naturally, based on first impressions, I assumed I was just going to uncover the same thing when I was asked to wash finds discovered from excavations in the East Baths. But what do I discover in the end when I’m done? Bricks, yes; but far more than that: oysters, animal bones, stonework, pottery pieces, glass, and the occasional metal tool. I never thought for a minute these were the things I would uncover after washing off all that dirt; I honestly haven’t seen this many bones since the last time I made short work of my last KFC takeaway.

A mix of bone and stone

And after the cleaning’s done, the next fun part is identifying which period the finds may’ve come from, what animals the bones belong to, and what could the stoneworks have originally been a part of. Even when you’ve gotten rid of that last patch of dirt, you’re still trying to work out what exactly is it you’ve found.

Oyster shells and glass

These discoveries may not be gold or gems, but let’s not forget Indiana Jones: the Last Crusade where the Holy Grail was not one of the many golden, jewel encrusted goblets to choose from, but an aged artefact, probably no different that what we’ve had on display. Sometimes even the smallest and insignificant thing based on first glance can turn out to be a unique discovery.

James

Reflecting on the Sacred Waters

Well, our time here at the Roman Baths and Pump Room is drawing to an end and this will be the last blog I write for you. Although, by the time you read this Joanna, Barbara and I will be long gone.

We will all miss our time here in Bath. I in particular will miss all the friends I have made here at the Baths, getting to work with the collections from Roman Britain and the Georgian period and being able to wander around behind the scenes here at the museum. It has been such a great learning experience that my time spent here has truly been invaluable and I will never forget it. From working events at Englishcombe, for the British Archaeological Festival, and Number Four the Circus, for Heritage Days, to working family events here at the Baths and researching collections down in the study area or here in the office. This placement has been quite an experience. I have written interpretation, designed displays, researched the most unusual things and learned more than I could ever have thought possible. I highly recommend the experience.

‘Reflecting on the Sacred Waters – Stories from beyond the Baths’ was another possible title for this blog. I thought it was appropriate to use it as the title here, for my final post.

The Cold Plunge Pool

(Joanna has one more blog coming out on March 15th for all of you. Think the ‘fall’ of Julius Caesar.)


We will miss you all,


Katrina Elizabeth

The Prince of Monaco Visits the New Royal Baths

During a quiet moment at St. John’s Store (The Roman Baths’ local history store on Locksbrook Road) I was flipping through the Bathers Report Book for the New Royal Baths and I came across a thank you letter from the Prince of Monaco dated September 28th, 1894.

Bathers Report Book

The letter was written by the Prince’s secretary, A. Blanchy, and from the secretary’s account it sounds like the Prince had a lovely time. Have a read:

Secrétariat des Commandements de S.A.S. Msr. Le Prince de Monaco

D’après les instructions de S.A.S. le Prince de Monaco, j’ai l’honneur de vous faire commaitre que le Prince c’est bien trouvé de l’installation médicale des bains de Bath, tout le personnel et le materiel se laissant rien à desirer.

A. Blanchy
Attaché au Secrétariat des Commandements
Bath le 28 Septembre 1984

Original Version

Translation:

Secretary’s Office of Commande of Son Atesse Serene Monseigneur the Prince of Monaco.
According to instruction from S.A.S. Prince of Monaco I have the honour to let you know that the Prince benefited by the “installation médicale” of the Baths of Bath, the attendants being all that can be desired.

(signed) A. Blanchy
Attaché au Secrétariat des Commandements
Bath 28th of Sept. 1894

Translated Version

St. John’s Store is full of spa equipment from the Spa Treatment Centre which closed in 1983. Many of the people who come to visit the stores remember having treatments at the Spa Centre. What about you? Did you ever experience the “installation médicale”?


Joanna

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 company formed in 1906 based in Hanley, Stoke-On-Trent. In their peak they owned six factories – three of which were teapot factories. They sold pottery with the Swinnertons name on it for almost 60 years, aiming their goods at middle class households. Today, the company is part of the Doulton group – I’m sure you’ve heard of their figurines!

The registration number on this piece, 837606, lets us know when the pattern was first made. Each registration number is unique, and kept in files at the National Archives in Kew. The numbering system was started in 1884: with over 1500 potteries in Staffordshire alone, no wonder the numbers are long! This number would have been registered in 1940.

Now, what does the actual piece look like? Since this is just a base, I couldn’t tell you if it was a saucer, a plate, or a larger dish. There also seems to be TWO patterns selling online with the name ‘luxor vellum’ and the same registration number: a plain cream, and a floral pattern. Try searching for Swinnertons “luxor vellum” 837606 on the internet, and tell us in the comments which one you think this pattern is!

Want to look up your granny’s teacups and find out more about them? Thepotteries.org (run by an amateur historian in Stoke-On-Trent) has a table of what range of numbers were registered between 1884 and 1965. It’s a good place to start!

 
Barbara