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The Welwyn Roman Baths, preserved under the A1(M) in Hertfordshire, opened to the public 50 years ago this year (CA 27). In the lead-up to this milestone, Dr Kris Lockyear led a team from the Welwyn Archaeological Society (WAS) and the Community Archaeology Geophysics Group to conduct a geophysical survey to the east of the A1(M), in the playing fields of Sherrardswood School.
The baths were once part of a larger villa complex, known as the Dicket Mead villa. One particularly large building – investigated in the 1960s and 1970s by Tony Rook, who discovered the original baths, and a WAS team – was found to contain a second bath suite, even larger and grander than the first. They had only three weeks to excavate this building, nicknamed ‘the Palace’, before it was partially buried by the motorway embankment.
During the more recent investigation, Kris and his team used a variety of techniques, including magnetometry, earth resistance, magnetic susceptibility, and ground-penetrating radar (GPR), to see if they could discover more details from this part of the site,. They were able to successfully extend the plan of ‘the Palace’ (officially labelled Building 3), with the GPR results showing that the building measured about 36m by 26m (118ft by 85ft), with the bath suite in the north-west corner. There were also four parallel ranges of rooms, possibly with a courtyard to the south-east. Unfortunately, the ‘canal’ seen on the 1970s excavation plan did not appear in the initial geophysical survey results. The team, however, is planning to undertake additional testing using resistivity pseudosections and other techniques to find this feature and map its course, in what is proving to be an exciting new phase in the history of the baths.
In addition to the surveying, to mark the anniversary, the Welwyn Hatfield Museum Service and the WAS collaborated to create a display celebrating Tony Rook and his family, and their role in discovering and saving the baths (see CA 60 and 286). The exhibit, designed by WAS director Kris and museum curator Esther Green, was shown at the baths on 26 July as part of the museum’s first Hertfordshire Archaeology Fair.
Commenting on the event, Kris stated that, ‘A number of Hertfordshire-based professional and community organisations participated, bringing displays and hands-on activities that appealed to both adults and children. In addition, I gave three sold-out lectures on Roman baths and the Roman Bath. It was an enormously successful day.’
Text: Kathryn Krakowka / Image: Kris Lockyear
