Roman Finds Beneath Bath Assembly Rooms Expand Known Extent of Ancient Settlement

The finds were made by Wessex Archaeology beneath the Assembly Rooms in the north of the city. Marek Lewcun of Wessex Archaeology said there had been a gap in knowledge and that the discovery helped fill a missing link. He said the residents of this part of Roman Bath were probably ordinary people comparable to modern suburbanites, including small shopkeepers supplying pottery and bread, and people who had gradually integrated with arrivals from across the Roman empire.

Lewcun said wealthier or higher-status people, such as retired military leaders, likely lived farther up the hill in villas, possibly the equivalent of retiring somewhere in the sun today. The archaeologists found almost 60 fragments of Roman pottery, glass vessels, animal bones, roof tiles, Roman coins and a limestone tessera that may once have formed part of a mosaic floor. Among the most intriguing discoveries was the fragment of a Roman military helmet, seen as further evidence that military personnel were involved in constructing the settlement. A slot for a beam was also found, showing that a Roman building had once stood there.

The Roman baths that give Bath its modern name are among the best-preserved ancient sites in northern Europe and attract more than 1 million visitors a year. Previous archaeological finds showed that there were suburbs around the baths complex and, farther away, comfortable country villas, but relatively little had been found north of the city. This was partly because Bath’s Georgian buildings and streets are solid and well protected by conservation laws, so construction projects that might unearth remains rarely take place.

The bath complex was built by the Romans around mineral-rich hot springs after the defeat of Queen Boudica in AD60 and 61. Known as Aquae Sulis, it became a place of pilgrimage for people seeking healing in the apparently curative water. Jane Austen lived in Bath in the early 19th century and visited Bath Assembly Rooms, where dancing, coffee-drinking, billiard-playing and gambling took place.

The builders of Bath Assembly Rooms in the late 18th century did not create deep foundations because they knew the thick clay was strong enough to support the structure, leaving the Roman ditches untouched for 21st-century archaeologists. During the restoration, beauty products, wig curlers, wine bottles and tobacco pipes from the rooms’ heyday have been found, but the Roman remains are regarded as a bonus. Tatjana LeBoff, the National Trust project curator at Bath Assembly Rooms, described the Roman discoveries as significant. The £20m restoration project includes refurbishing the upper rooms heavily damaged by bombing in the second world war and conserving 10 original Georgian chandeliers. The building is due to reopen next year with a new Georgian visitor experience and a place for 21st-century assembly.

Editor's Summary The discovery beneath Bath Assembly Rooms adds evidence of Roman suburban life and military involvement to the known map of Aquae Sulis. It also shows how shallow Georgian foundations helped preserve Roman deposits for modern archaeologists. The restored Assembly Rooms are scheduled to reopen next year.