© Elizabeth Beston 2019gohistory.co.uk

WELWYN ROMAN BATHSWelwyn By Pass Road, Welwyn, Hertfordshire

AL6 9FG(under the A1(M)!)

These Roman bath ruins are

part of a larger self-sufficient

farm villa called Dicket Mead

The villa was built 3rd century

Because of its location near a R

oman

road and river, some historians th

ink

Dicket Mead might have also been a what?

a) Gladiator training school

b) Hotel c) Amazon Click and Collect pointThe villa was occupied for about 150 yearsThere is another Roman villa

just 300 metres away, called ‘Lockley’

1960Archaeologist Tony Rook discovered the ruins

It was gradually uncovered and studied over the next ten years

Archaeologists discovered several buildings:WorkshopsStorageAccomodationAnother bath-house

The baths that have been preserved at th

e site may have

been for a second family, or farm workers

an

sw

ers: b

,a,a

,b

© Elizabeth Beston 2019gohistory.co.uk

The baths were warmed

by a hypocaust system

About half the baths are

on display here

They are built of flint and

were covered in plaster

and painted

What luxury did the baths have? a) Glazed windows b) An orchestra pit c) A chocolate fountain

Rooms of the bath house

Frigidarium: The cold room where bathers began and ended their bathing. It was a changing room and had a cold plunge bath

Tepidarium: The warm room where bathers relaxed and were massaged with oilCaldarium: The hot room, which was steamy. The steam opened the pores and released dirt and impuritiesHere they would have used a strigil.

What is a strigil? a) A piece of string for cleaning between the toes b) A blunt blade for scraping oil and dirt off the skin c) A stringed instrument played for relaxation

Bathers would also rinse off in the hot bath, before returning to the Frigidarium

The baths that are

on display are ruins.

When were they demolished?

a) Roman times b) Tudor times c) When the motorway was built

A steel vault was built over the bath ruins, and an access

tunnel addedHow clever!

When the motorway was built,

much of the archaeological site was covered by the roadworksThe ruins sit 9 metres under

junction 6 of the A1(M)

On-site What is the latin name for the stoke-hole?