Welwyn Roman Baths

The Roman baths beneath the A1(M) in Welwyn, Hertfordshire are a scheduled ancient monument, part of the Dicket Mead Roman villa complex. Discovered in 1960 by Tony Rook, excavations by the Welwyn Archaeological Society revealed a bath complex within a larger villa. This bath house is preserved under the motorway embankment within a steel vault. The villa dates from the early third century and fell out of use in the mid-fourth. The site is open to the public on Saturdays and on selected days in school holidays, offering family-friendly, hands-on learning and fascinating experiences up close with real archaeology.

The baths feature three key rooms: the unheated frigidarium (cold room), the warm tepidarium, and the hot caldarium. A sophisticated hypocaust system provided underfloor and wall heating. Romans would progress through the rooms, using oil and a curved tool called a strigil for cleansing in the hot room. They’d rinse in plunge pools, hot then cold.

The baths weren’t just about hygiene. For wealthy Romans, bathing was a time-consuming social ritual. It could easily occupy an entire afternoon, combining relaxation with conversations and even business dealings.