On Thursday 26th June, Upper 4 visited the Roman Baths in Bath to complement their recent interdisciplinary study of curse tablets, and to assist with their project work investigating the social, religious and engineering aspects of the Baths.
During the visit, students saw a huge range of artefacts in addition to the various bathing areas. They were able to gauge the popularity of the Baths by seeing the evidence of trade and travel, and even a skeleton of a man who had travelled across the empire, probably seeking a cure from the waters of Aquae Sulis. Students were also able to see a range of curse tablets and marvelled at how small they were in reality, after looking at examples of them in our Latin lessons. Many students tasted the thermal waters – a renowned health cure – despite its somewhat metallic taste!
Students also engaged with a teaching session examining to what extent Aquae Sulis was a ‘normal’ Roman town. They used their investigative skills looking at evidence of building materials, everyday objects and written sources to inform their answers, and many concluded that although the hot spring was certainly a unique feature of the town, the baths themselves were a somewhat typical example of remarkable Roman engineering.
Thanks go to the Classics department for organising and accompanying this inspiring visit.
