Cunliffe, B. (1966). The temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath. Antiquity 40. Vol 40, pp. 199-204.
Title The title of the publication or report |
The temple of Sulis Minerva at Bath | ||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Issue The name of the volume or issue |
Antiquity 40 | ||||||||||||||
Series The series the publication or report is included in |
Antiquity | ||||||||||||||
Volume Volume number and part |
40 | ||||||||||||||
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. |
199 - 204 | ||||||||||||||
Biblio Note This is a Bibliographic record only. |
Please note that this is a bibliographic record only, as originally entered into the BIAB database. The ADS have no files for download, and unfortunately cannot advise further on where to access hard copy or digital versions. | ||||||||||||||
Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book |
Journal | ||||||||||||||
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report |
Parts of the temple plan, 15 ft below ground level, had been observed as opportunity offered between 1790 and 1959. Excavations in 1965 prompted the collection of all available information, including Irvine's careful plans of the 1860s, towards the reconstruction offered in this interim report. The temple in its colonnaded precinct, the baths and another monumental building apparently formed part of a unified plan. Enough of the temple podium has been seen to show its dimensions and allow the size of the cella to be calculated. The proportions obtained agree with those recommended by Vitruvius. The porch plan can be deduced; the pediment is already familiar in several attempted reconstructions. The altar platform is in situ, and the 1965 excavations revealed part of one ornamental corner from the altar itself, which appears to match another from the Roman Baths Museum and a third built into Compton Dando church. The first mention in Britain of a haruspex, or high-ranking augurer, comes from a statue base found in situ near the altar, and suggests the special importance of this temple. The precinct wall is described together with the sculptures known so far. No datable material has been found but the temple layout may date from 1st century, with many later alterations and some encroachment from other buildings in 3rd and 4th centuries. As the drains fell into disrepair the temple gradually subsided into a marsh, to escape stone-robbing. Its classical planning and construction, like that of the Claudian temple at Colchester, recall European examples rather than the Romano-Celtic temples common in Britain, and emphasise the importance of Aquae Sulis as an elegant resort. Hence a plea is made for a third of the precinct to be laid open for public access. | ||||||||||||||
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published |
1966 | ||||||||||||||
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. |
|
||||||||||||||
Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. |
BIAB
(British Archaeological Abstracts (BAA))
|
||||||||||||||
Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered |
05 Dec 2008 |