Roman Baths

The museum tells the story of 7,000 years of human development around the spring, focussing on the Roman remains and its associated collection, which are exceptional for northern Europe.

This great temple and bathing complex still flows with natural hot water. Located below modern street level, the Roman ruins comprise four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman bath house and finds from Roman Bath.

The most eye-catching part of the museum is the Great Bath. Now exposed to the elements, the large pool was once covered with a high, vaulted roof. For many Roman visitors this may have been the largest building they had ever entered. The bath was fed with hot water directly from the Sacred Spring and provided an opportunity to enjoy a luxurious warm swim. The bath is lined with 45 thick sheets of lead and is 1.6 metres deep.

Around the Great Bath, costumed actors interact with visitors and tell stories about their lives as Roman citizens. Elsewhere, film projections illustrate how the ruins once looked and conjure up the ghost-like presence of the baths' early visitors.