Aquae Sulis

Aquae Sulis (now the city of Bath, Somerset) was a small town in the Roman province of Britannia, established in the first few years after the Romans arrived in Britain [1]. It is situated where the Fosse Way crosses the River Avon, in an area of naturally occurring hot springs [1]. The settlement had developed into an important walled temple and bath complex by the 3rd century AD, and appears to have served as a visitor attraction before falling into disrepair and eventual decline by the start of the 5th century [1]. The Antonine Itinerary register of Roman roads lists the town as Aquis Sulis [1]. Ptolemy records the town as Aquae calidae in his 2nd-century work Geographia, where it is listed as one of the cities of the Belgae [1]. The Romans probably began building a formal temple complex at Aquae Sulis in the AD 60s [1]. An early Roman military presence has been found just to the north-east of the bath complex in the Walcot area of modern Bath [1].