View source for Welwyn Roman Baths

{{Short description|Roman ruin in England}}
{{Use British English Oxford spelling|date=August 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2017}}
{{Infobox ancient site
  |name = Welwyn Roman Baths
  |alternate_name = 
  |image = Welwyn Roman baths 02.jpg
  |alt = 
  |caption = Photograph of the baths. Rooms intended to be the warmest were located nearest to the furnace.
  |map_type = Hertfordshire#United Kingdom#Europe
  |coordinates = {{coord|51.8277|-0.2081|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
  |location =[[Welwyn Garden City]], [[Hertfordshire]], England
  |region =
  |type = [[Ancient Roman architecture|Roman]]
  |built = 
  |epochs = [[Roman Empire]]
  |website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
  |notes = 
}}
The '''Welwyn [[Thermae|Roman Baths]]''' are a [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] ruin preserved under the [[A1 road (Great Britain)#A1(M)|A1(M)]] just north of modern-day [[Welwyn Garden City]], [[Hertfordshire]], England. The baths were a small part of the '''Dicket Mead villa''', which was originally built in the 3rd century AD.

The village of [[Welwyn]] has been described as being the site of a Romano-British settlement, where a [[Roman road]] crossed the [[river Mimram]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roman-britain.co.uk/places/welwyn/|title = Roman Britain}}</ref> There was another Roman villa near Welwyn on the Lockleys estate.

The full extent of the Dicket Mead villa was never fully excavated prior to the construction of the motorway, but the baths were only one of at least four buildings in total. The complex was probably part of a farm. It has been speculated that it might have been at least in part the equivalent of a hotel, lying as it does near Roman roads.

The ruins were uncovered in 1960 by local [[archaeology|archaeologist]] Tony Rook, and the baths were gradually uncovered over the following 10 years by excavation. Shortly after the excavation was completed, the [[Department for Transport|Ministry of Transport]] announced the route of a new [[motorway]], straight over the top of the excavation.

==Access==
Eventually arrangements were made whereby a steel vault would be built over the top of the baths with an access tunnel for the public. Once the vault was completed the motorway was built over the top of it, and the remains of the baths sit 9 metres below junction 6. Only about half of the original extent of the baths is now on display. Visible parts remaining include the [[hypocaust]], the [[tepidarium]] (warm room), [[caldarium]] (hot room) and the [[frigidarium]] (cold room) floor and cold bath, constructed from [[opus signinum]].

Once the vault was finished, the bulk of the remaining parts of the Dicket Mead villa were covered over by the roadworks. Archaeological material from the site is stored at [[Mill Green Museum]], part of Welwyn Hatfield Museum Service, which also operates the baths. This stored material can be inspected by contacting the curator.

==Images==
<gallery>
File:Welwyn Roman baths 01.jpg|View along the hypocaust
File:Welwyn Roman baths 005A.jpg|Statue model sitting on the opus signinum
File:Welwyn Roman baths 004.jpg|Side view
File:Welwyn Roman baths 003.jpg|Quarter view
File:Welwyn Roman baths - skeleton.jpg|The skeletal remains of a woman buried on the Dicket Mead site.
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[List of Roman public baths]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.millgreenmuseum.co.uk/ roman-baths] – Official site at Mill Green Museum
*[http://www.pastscape.org.uk/hob.aspx?hob_id=364864 Welwyn Roman Baths] – Pastscape



{{Villas in Roman Britain}}
{{Roman visitor sites in the UK}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Tourist attractions in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:History of Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Ancient Roman baths in England]]
[[Category:Roman sites in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Scheduled monuments in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Museums in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Museums of ancient Rome in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Archaeological museums in England]]
[[Category:3rd-century establishments in Roman Britain]]
[[Category:Welwyn]]