One of the tasks of the team working on the Archway Project dig has been to open up some old excavations and to record them using current protocols. The trench in the photograph has exposed the top of a culvert draining a small bath which is situated in an area that will become an archaeological Investigation Zone that school groups and other learning groups will be able to access. The top of the culvert (about a metre below the surrounding surface) is covered with slabs and some of these have been moved aside allowing a view into the drain itself. The line of the drain (top left to bottom right) is blocked by deposited material with a reddish tinge, indicating that the waters were draining from a hot spring source.
The two capstones should be back in place before there is public access to this space but there is an opportunity to see and learn more if you join one of the archaeology tours that will run during February 2018 – https://www.romanbaths.co.uk/news/new-public-archaeology-tours-roman-baths
About the Archway Project
The Roman Baths is part-way through a major scheme – The Archway Project – to open up new areas of the site to visitors and to expand into buildings on the other side of York Street in Bath. As part of this project, BACAS is assisting with the excavations and interpretation of the archaeology of the site. BACAS is a partner of The Roman Baths on the archaeological component of the project and will work alongside the selected archaeological contractors, Cotswold Archaeology. The majority of the funding for the project has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund; however, substantial funding has also been provided by Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES) Council, The Clore-Duffield Foundation and The Garfield Weston Foundation, and fund-raising continues.