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Archaeological Evidence and Historical Sites
There is quite a bit of archaeological evidence for Roman occupation in Britain. Features include towns, roads, fortresses, and walls. Various artifacts are also found, including coins, pottery, and weapons.
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Aquae Sulis (Bath) contained the first spa built in Britain, and citizens from all over the Roman Empire journeyed there to take in its healing waters. The spa, built towards the end of the first century, contained three large artificial pools, where the waters of a hot mineral spring were gathered. The largest (The Great Bath) was rectangular, and the two smaller ones circular. The spa also contained smaller baths which could be found in any Roman town. It was the largest spa in western Europe, and was watched over by Sulis, the goddess of the spring, who was associated with the Roman goddess Minerva.
Hadrian’s Wall, constructed between 120 and 130, was built to protect Britannia from Scottish tribes. The wall was just one part of a defensive system that included a series of forts, milecastles, turrets, a great external ditch and a service road set within a controlled area marked by an earthwork (the Vallum). The barrier was located from the Irthing River to Carlisle.
Another less well known barrier, the Antonine Wall, was a consequence of Emperor Antoninus Pius’s excursions even farther into Scottish country. Built around 140, the wall stretches from the Firth of Forth to the Firth of Clyde. Apparently, there were no regularly placed turrets or milecastles associated with this wall, nor was there an earthwork to the rear as there was with Hadrian’s Wall.