Peter Davenport will give a talk on ‘The People of Roman Bath’. This talk will give some fascinating insights into the lives and concerns of Roman Bath’s residents and visitors. After the Roman conquest of Britain, Bath was recognised as a site of strategic importance and a military presence was established to guard the pass through the Cotswolds and the crossing of the Avon. The earliest people in Roman Bath were therefore soldiers, Legionaries and Auxiliaries. In the following centuries, based on the hot springs, Aquae Sulis became an overwhelmingly civilian religious and recreational centre. We only have fragments of the lives of visitors and residents, but these throw a fascinating light onto those long-ago people.
Peter is a leading authority on Roman Bath and is best known in Bath for being Director of Excavations for the Bath Archaeological Trust from 1980 until its closure in 2005. This was followed by many years at Cotswold Archaeology retiring in 2019. His publications include ‘Medieval Bath Uncovered’ and ‘Roman Bath: A New History and Archaeology of Aquae Sulis’. Peter is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries, a member of the Institute for Archaeologists and of the Vernacular Architecture Group. He is a Trustee of the Roman Baths Foundation.
This talk will take place in the Sophie Cameron Centre at the Royal High School. For more information and tickets go to www.millenniumgreen.org.uk/events.