Gunga - Roman curses!&?%#*}?£€

---

Visited April 27 written May 8,2014

While visiting the Roman baths in,duh, Bath I saw a sign that said that over 130 curse tablets have been found in the ruins. Most of the tablets related to theft of clothes while the victim was bathing. Some things never change.

The town of Bath is about 100 miles west of London. I could have spent a week there but all I had was two hours. What I saw was like being inside an English novel. The town is filled with amazing Georgian architecture including the famous 'Royal Crescent', extensive curved buildings of exact apartments all with white trim. I read that you can rent a room at a hotel located within the crescent for $500 or $1,700 for a luxury suite.

Aside from the fantastic abbey, which dates from 1449, Bath was also the home of Jane Austen from 1801- 1806. I would have loved to have visited the Jane Austen Centre but maybe, well, some other time. Jane (1775 - 1817)apparently used the social scene of Bath as fodder for several of her novels. She understood very well that making a 'good' marriage meant living in comfort and having a good social standing for the rest of a woman's life. Jane actually published her books anonymously and had little personal fame during her life time. In 1869, her nephew published "A Memoir of Jane Austen" which introduced her to a wider public audience and the rest is history.

The 'star' of Bath is, of course, the baths, a World Heritage Site. They are called 'Roman' but some historians believe that the Celts were the first to 'discover' the 'waters' which they dedicated to the goddess Sulis, whom the Romans later called Minerva. I'm not sure about the validity of this next item but it is part of the 'lore' so I'm just passing it on... British King Bladud was said to have built the first bath in 836 B.C. This version said that the 'spring' had cured Bladud and his herd of pigs of leprosy through their wallowing in the warm mud. Hmmm, a king, a herd of pigs, and warm mud? Stop a minute to visualize that scene... Ok, that's enough. Really, who needs pictures?

So what creates a 'bath'? It starts as rain, comes down off a hillside, goes through limestone aquifers to depths of from 9 - 14,000 feet. There, geothermal energy raises the water temperatures to 147 - 205 degrees. Wait,wait, there's more of this fascinating scientific concept...under pressure the heated water rises through fissures and faults in the limestone and voila! ' hot springs' or baths.

So, after the Roman invasion the temple was built in 60-70 A.D. The bathing complex was added over the next couple of hundred years. Most interesting fact - over 12,000 Roman coins have been found in a spring. There's a gilt bronze head of Sulis/ Minerva and a stern Gorgon's head that glares down from a height of 45 feet.

Today the water is deemed unsafe for bathing. I can tell you that the green,murky, steaming pool can conjure up visions of wild bacchanals - as we all know those Romans knew how to party hearty.

The day that had started out with a medium drizzle now had turned into a heavy rain. I stepped into one of the closest tea shoppes, 'Sally Lunn's', and sat at a tiny table in a house built in 1482, you read that right, 1482! It is, I learned, the home of the famous 'Sally Lunn bun' created by 'Sally' in 1680. It looks like a gigantic hamburger bun which they top with your choice all sorts of jams, meat, sauces, and creams. Take your pick. What's not to like?

The rain continued with flashes of lightening and crashes of thunder but we soldiered on to our next World Heritage Site, Stonehenge.

Holy moly! These stones were put in place over 4,500 years ago aligned with the sun. Like many of these places of unknown origins they have become official places of worship for Druids ( apparently not just a religion of ancient lore) and pagans. In fact, they are closed to the public on solstices so these groups can practice their ancient religions rituals.

I've seen a lot of ruins and a lot of stones and these rank right up with the best of them. The tall stones weigh about 25 tons. Geologists think they were brought in from Marlborough Downs about 20 miles away. The smaller top stones are called 'bluestones' due to their bluish tint and weigh up to 4 tons. It is thought they came from Wales which is about 150 miles away. Actually, no one knows how they moved them possibly by water or possibly they were dragged by the glaciers during the last ice age. It is still a mystery with many theories surrounding them - were they brought by aliens? Dropped off by UFO's? Created by Merlin's wizardry? Used as a giant musical instrument? Possibly an elite burial grounds? An astronomical calendar? Giant bells? Or a healing site. Take your pick .

I know many people feel it is a sacred site and some in our group were deeply moved by them. I have to tell you that I felt nothing. I have been to other ' sacred sites' and felt that whoosh feeling in the pit of my stomach but here, I felt nothing.

I'm reading a book by one of the best bloggers on this site who goes by the name 'Jabe'. He has written a book about his 4 years of traveling called "Out of the Office Male". He is a great writer and I would recommend his book. You can get it on Amazon for your Kindle or iPad for $4.99. I read where he went to Machu Picchu and felt nothing. What!? I can recall my first visit there, my second, and my third and each time being dumbstruck with the aura of the place which I consider sacred.

So, I think it is an individual feeling and one gets it or one doesn't and it really doesn't matter. Although, I didn't feel moved on a 'sacred' level, I was impressed with the site, the inherent struggle that must have gone into building it, and the intelligence that went into the planning of such a place.

Carolyn/Gunga

---

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Oh Holy Moly!
As you say, some places move us and some don't. Machu Picchu moved me in ways I cannot describe. Stonehenge was really cool and I did sit and wonder ...how...why...and it was one of the first ruins I'd ever seen so it holds a special place but I was not moved the way I was at Machu Picchu. Glad you are enjoying Jabe's book. We enjoyed it also. I remember when we were in Rye, England we stayed in a B&B that was built in the 1400's or something crazy like that and it had a corner stone that said, remodeled 1680. I kept staring at that because I couldn't wrap my brain around it. Nothing in the U.S. is old. Happy travels.

[Gunga]

Jabe
I wrote to 'Jabe' via his blog but got no response. It would have been nice to meet him in York but maybe he isn't even in England anymore. Yes, the dates gobsmack me and I am always humbled by them. More blogs to come.