Archaeological evidence shows that the site of the Roman Baths' main spring was treated as a shrine by the Iron Age Britons, and was dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans identified with Minerva; however, the name Sulis continued to be used after the Roman invasion, leading to the town's Roman name of Aquae Sulis (literally, "the waters of Sulis"). Messages to her scratched onto metal, known as curse tablets, have been recovered from the Sacred Spring by archaeologists. These curse tablets were written in Latin, and usually laid curses on people by whom the writers felt they had been wronged. For example, if a citizen had his clothes stolen at the baths, he would write a curse, naming the suspects, on a tablet to be read by the Goddess Sulis Minerva.1
Thermae Aquae Sulis
Voor de komst van de Romeinen had de centrale bron van Bath waarschijnlijk als een sacrale functie. De bron waarschijnlijk gewijd aan de godin Sulis, die door de Romeinen geïdentificeerd werd met Minerva. Na de komst van de Romeinen kreeg de plaats de naam Aquae Sulis ("het water van Sulis").
Er zijn berichten aan haar gevonden op metalen plaatjes, zogenaamde vervloekingstafels. Doorgaans werd er een vloek uitgesproken over de dief van de kleding van de badgast.1 Nederland kent de vervloekingstafel van Bodegraven waarop militairen vervloekt worden.
Zie ook
References
Nearby sites
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The Roman Baths Bath
The Roman Baths Bath -
Temple of Sulis Minerva
Temple of Sulis Minerva -
Aquis Sulis (Bath)
OmnesViae import OVPlace477 -
Beau Street Hoard
The Beau Street Hoard consists of 22,000 silver Roman coins dating from between 32 BC and 274 AD.
